MP CRITICAL OF FEDERAL DRUG REPORT

Harm reduction should be the core of a federal drug program, say
recommendations of a federal parliamentary committee announced yesterday.

But that doesn't sit well with the committee's vice-chair, Langley
Abbotsford Alliance MP Randy White -- who has long called harm reduction
"harm extension.''

A total of 40 recommendations arise from the committee's report, unveiled
at Vancouver's Roundhouse Centre. The Special Parliamentary Committee on
the Non-medical Use of Drugs spent 18 months in hearings across the
country, and heard hundreds of expert witnesses.

It's now up to the federal government to decide whether to implement all or
some of the recommendations.

More than half a dozen of the recommendations, which were contained in part
one of the committee's final report tabled in the House of Commons, deal
with the topic of harm reduction.

One calls for the decriminalization of possession and cultivation of small
amounts of marijuana.

White joined political rivals Vancouver Central Liberal MP Hedy Fry and
Vancouver East NDP MP Libby Davies in making part one public.

He was blunt in his criticism of some aspects of the report, especially
those calling for the establishment of needle exchange programs, safe
injection sites and heroin maintenance programs in major cities across
Canada, including Vancouver.

White told the Abbotsford News prior to yesterday's report that Vancouver
and the Lower Mainland will become a "magnet'' for drug addicts from across
Canada and the U.S. if such an approach is taken.

"Why are they promoting programs that will keep addicts on drugs, instead
of programs that will with detox and rehabilitation?'' he asked yesterday.
"Their concepts of harm reduction can be better classed as harm extension,
as they will maintain a chemical dependency to dangerous and illicit drugs
over a much longer period of time.''

He said federal Health Minister Anne McLellan is already at the front of
the "harm reduction bandwagon. "The first priority of a National Drug
Strategy should be abstinence,'' said the MP.

Recommendation 41 calls for the minister of justice and the minister of
health to decriminalize the possession and cultivation of not more than 30
grams of marijuana for personal use. The Canadian Alliance will be
releasing its position on federal marijuana laws on Thursday, the same day
the parliamentary committee releases its final report on pot.

The recommendations also call for methadone to be offered to federal prison
inmates as substitution therapy, also strongly opposed by White, and needle
exchange programs.

The committee was given a mandate to study Canada's non-medical drug use in
May of 2001, and was made up of federal members from all political parties.