Pubdate: Tue, 10 Apr 2001
Source: Esquimalt News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 Esquimalt News
Contact:  http://www.esquimaltnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1290
Author: Mark Browne

MP CALLS FOR END TO DRUG WAR

As the ongoing war on drugs is doing nothing to effectively address the 
problem of drug abuse it's time to try something else.

That's the opinion of Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca MP Keith Martin on the issue 
of drug abuse. And that's why the local Canadian Alliance MP tried to bring 
in a private member's bill last week in the House of Commons aimed at 
addressing drug abuse  and the illicit drug trade which are showing no 
signs of going away.

"We're losing the battle and we need to rethink how we deal with substance 
abuse,"  says Martin.

The first part of Martin's motion dealt with reducing domestic consumption 
of drugs through rehabilitation programs based on new European models. Such 
programs have  proven to have good track records.

"We need to put a greater emphasis on consumption rather than production 
because if there's no consumption and no demand there wouldn't be any 
production," Martin  explains.

Many Latin American politicians are supportive of such an approach, he 
says. And even some politicians in the US - the country known for 
perpetuating the so-called war on  drugs - are beginning to admit it's time 
to take a more rehabilitative approach to drug  abuse. Martin says, while 
he was visiting Colombia a couple of months ago, US Senator John McCain 
publicly stated it's time for his country to revamp it's stance on drug 
consumption.

Simply waging war on Colombian drug cartels hasn't in itself had any 
noticeable impact on reducing the amount of cocaine and heroin people use 
in North America, says Martin. When some of the major cocaine cartels in 
Colombia were put out of business in the early 1990s, other organizations 
such as the Marxist guerrillas and paramilitary groups simply took over.

Some of the European models aimed a reducing drug consumption are concerned 
with areas including detox programs, counselling and providing job skills 
to help addicts leave the drug scene.

"You have to get the person in a structured environment away from their 
drug environment," adds Martin.

Another section of Martin's motion was concerned with introducing the 
national Headstart program which involves early intervention techniques as 
a way of steering children in the right direction. One of the features of 
the Headstart program involves strengthening the parent-child bond which he 
argues is a great way of reducing the chances of children getting messed up 
on drugs.

While tackling the problem of drug consumption is a start, Martin would 
also like Canada to step up it's fight against organized crime. Part of 
Martin's motion called for the introduction of amendments to the criminal 
code that would be based on the American Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt 
Organization Act (RICO). That, says Martin, would allow law enforcement 
agencies to go after the profits earned by major players in the illegal 
drug trade.

Lastly, Martin's private members bill called for a hemispheric free trade 
agreement that reduces tariffs, non-tariff barriers and the elimination of 
double taxation regimes. Such a move, he argues, would make it possible for 
farmers in places like Colombia to stop growing cocoa leaves, and more 
recently, opium, and produce legitimate crops instead.

As is the case with almost every private members bill, Martin's motion was 
denied.

Still, there was a good reason to try and bring the bill in while 
realistically expecting it would get defeated. In this case, it's to give 
the concept some publicity on the eve of the Summit of the Americas slated 
to run from April 20-22 in Quebec City .

"The whole purpose of the private members motion is to raise awareness 
before the Summit because we're the host and have an enormous opportunity 
to deal with the illicit drug trade in a new way and develop consensus," 
says Martin. 
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom