Pubdate: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 Source: Revelstoke Times Review (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 Bowes Publishers Contact: http://www.revelstoketimesreview.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2139 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?241 (Methamphetamine - Canada) FEDERAL ACTION URGED ON CRYSTAL METH The B.C. government's latest effort to combat crystal meth use is a good step, but the federal government needs to do its part, says MP Vic Teows, the Conservative justice critic At the recent Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, Premier Gordon Campbell announced a $7 million fund for community educational efforts to combat the production and use of the drug "With B.C. suffering from one of the highest rates of crystal meth trafficking and abuse in the country, this announcement is a definite step in the right direction," Teows said. "The Conservative Party will continue to call on the federal Liberal government to implement a cohesive strategy, which could help co-ordinate provincial and federal resources for treatment programs, and also to address the wide-ranging implications of crystal meth on health, society, and crime. The federal Conservatives endorse B.C. Solicitor General John Les' call for mandatory prison terms for trafficking in crystal meth, rather than conditional sentences and house arrest that are now available under the Criminal Code. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom