DRUG WAR GETS NEW CHAMPION

Chuvalo hopes to KO addiction

When former Canadian heavyweight boxing champion George Chuvalo
stepped into the ring yesterday he wasn't there to take on George
Foreman or Muhammad Ali or any of the other legends he's faced in the past.

He was there to fight drugs.

Chuvalo, who was Canadian champ from 1958-1979, is partnering with the
Ontario Crime Control Commission as part of a new initiative to battle drug
addiction and drug-related crime. The OCCC estimates there are 330,000
drug users in Ontario.

Having lost three sons to heroin abuse -- Steven and George Lee to
overdoses and Jesse to suicide -- Chuvalo knows all too well how drugs can
destroy families and communities.

LONG JAIL TERMS

"What happened to my family shouldn't happen to anyone's family,"
Chuvalo said, fighting off tears as he described how his sons faced long
jail terms during the course of their addictions.

Yesterday the renowned boxer appeared at Florida Jack's Boxing Club on Yonge
St., to kick off the campaign that will see him speak to young people at
eight forums across the province.

"People want us to prevent crime," said MPP Bob Wood, the OCCC's
co-chairman. "With George's help, we hope to keep young Ontarians from being
pulled into the downward spiral of drug addiction, crime, and far too
often, an early grave."

NEW STRATEGY

Bruce Miller, administrator for the Police Association of Ontario, said
the need for a new strategy is especially apparent in light of the
federal government's recent discussions about the
decriminalization of so-called soft drugs like marijuana.

"They are sending the wrong message," Miller said. "All these years we have
been telling kids to say no to drugs. Now they're talking about making it
legal. What is that saying?"

Chuvalo said the government needs to consider how young people will react
to decriminalization or legalization.

"To them it says it's okay to use drugs," he said.

"That's how a young person would interpret it."