MARTIN DECLINES INVITE TO FORUM

Keith Martin decided to "just say no" to a group of anti-drug crusaders who
staged a conference in Vancouver last week.

The Canadian Alliance MP for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca turned down an
invitation from the group, who are adamantly opposed to decriminalizing
drugs or harm reduction programs as an approach to addressing drug addiction.

Conference organizers favour a strong, punitive approach to those who use
drugs, says Martin. He notes Drug Free America was one of the major
sponsors of the conference and provided a lot of financial backing for the
event. "It was primarily American driven," says Martin.

That said, he refused to participate in a conference that supports the
U.S.-driven war on drugs which, Martin says, is arguably a failure as
illicit drug use is still out of control.

He notes only those on the "just say no" side were permitted to speak at
the conference.

Martin wouldn't have had the opportunity to step up to the podium since he
doesn't support the group's views.

"They're only interested in listening to one side of the story - they're
highly biased," says Martin.

Martin says he can't begin to figure out why the organizers of the event
invited him to the conference in the first place.

After all, Martin has been very outspoken on his views about
decriminalizing marijuana use and harm reduction programs for drug users.

He says he agrees with taking a hard-line approach to drug dealers, who
operate in organized crime circles.

But, Martin argues, by taking a harsh, punitive approach against those who
simply use drugs, governments are only suppressing the underlying causes of
addiction instead of addressing the problem.

Martin recently saw his Private Member's Bill - calling for the
decriminalization of marijuana - killed in the House of Commons by the
federal Liberals at the insistence of the Prime Minister's Office.

The issue gained widespread attention as Martin grabbed the ceremonial mace
in the House of Commons after the Liberals prevented his Bill from being
voted on.

Martin said he hoped raising the issue about decriminalizing marijuana
would pave the way for debate on possible solutions to the illicit drug
problem in general. He has maintained society needs to look at people who
are addicted to hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin as a medical problem
- - not a criminal problem.

He says countries, such as the Netherlands, have taken a much more
progressive approach to addressing drug addiction and have experienced a
reduction in crime and the spread of diseases, such as Hepatitis C, from
sharing needles.

Martin earlier said he would like to see the federal government adopt
legislation allowing law enforcement agencies to go after profits made by
criminal organizations involved in large-scale drug trafficking.

"By taking away financial support for organized crime you can hurt criminal
organizations effectively," he said.