Source: Ottawa Citizen (Canada)
Pubdate: Wed 10 Jun 1998
Section: News A1 / Front
Contact:  http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Author: Mike Trickey

WAR ON DRUGS A BUST, CANADA SAYS: PREVENTION, REHABILITATION AS
IMPORTANT AS ENFORCEMENT, MINISTER SAYS

UNITED NATIONS -- Revenue Minister Herb Dhaliwal admits the ongoing
``war on drugs'' is not working and says the world must find new
methods of short-circuiting the industry that is wreaking havoc on
societies rich and poor around the world.

``I think everybody recognizes that dealing with the supply side of it
hasn't worked, isn't going to work and we need new bold initiatives,''
said Mr. Dhaliwal, who heads the Canadian delegation at a special
three-day United Nations conference on drugs that began yesterday.

He said the failure to cut off the drug supply explains why some at
the conference believe anti-drug campaigns should instead concentrate
on reducing demand.

The UN conference has set 2008 as the goal for the eradication of
illicit drugs. A similar conference eight years ago established 1995
as the year the world was to have been made drug-free.

Mr. Dhaliwal said there has been recognition that drugs are a global
problem that cannot be dealt with by any one country alone and further
recognition, particularly by the United States, that the world cannot
be divided into drug-consuming and drug-producing nations.

He pointed to the new Canada Drug Strategy, which was put forward last
month as an example of Canada's ``balanced approach'' between cutting
supply and reducing demand through treatment and programs such as
needle exchanges. Such an approach will save taxpayers' money and
improve Canadian society, he said.

``Prevention, treatment, rehabilitation in the long term will be a lot
cheaper because once people get into the justice system, it becomes
very expensive. It costs about $40,000 a year to have someone
incarcerated, so our government is very much committed to prevention
and rehabilitation and treatment.

``We have to start slowly and see if we're getting good results and do
re-evaluations.''

However, calls to decriminalize marijuana by various prominent
Canadians, including NDP Leader Alexa McDonough and Liberal Senator
Sharon Carstairs, are going too far, he said.

``The question becomes: If you decriminalize marijuana, (will) people
start with a soft drug and move to the high drug? In fact, in the
longer term, will you have a bigger problem?

``It's something very difficult to predict. But our whole movement is
to reduce the use of drugs. Period.''

The Canada Drug Strategy put the costs of drug and alcohol abuse to
Canadian society in 1992 at $8.89 billion, but said drugs accounted
for only 15 per cent of that.

Mr. Dhaliwal said Canada will strengthen laws to discourage
money-laundering: A new bill is in the works that will require all
financial transactions in excess of $10,000 to be reported to Revenue
Canada.

As well, new technology and improved intelligence operations are being
brought into play in the war against drug-smugglers.

Revenue Canada announced yesterday that Vancouver customs officers had
seized 150 kilograms of cocaine hidden in the false bottoms of
containers in a German-registered ship. Officials put the street value
of the cocaine at $30 million.

Mr. Dhaliwal said customs officers have seized drugs with a street
value of $201 million since the beginning of this year and have made
32,000 drug seizures worth $6.5 billion since 1987.

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