Prime Minister Stephen Harper has promised mandatory prison terms for serious drug crimes as part of a $63.8-million, two-year drug strategy he says will help addicts and punish dealers.
Harper lamented that "currently there are no minimum prison sentences for producing and trafficking dangerous drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine."
"But these are serious crimes," he said. "Those who commit them should do serious time, so we'll introduce new legislation this fall proposing mandatory prison sentences for people convicted of serious drug offences."
He did not say what offences would fall into that category or how long the sentences would be, but he did not mention marijuana in connection with mandatory sentencing.
He promised new money for drug investigations and prosecutions, bigger campaigns to identify and close drug labs and marijuana grow ops, tougher border enforcement to keep drugs out of the country and more RCMP efforts to seize proceeds of crime
Harper stressed that two-thirds of the money in the strategy would go to programs designed to help addicts quit and raise public awareness of the dangers of drugs. The rest, $21.6 million, would go to enforcement efforts.
Liberal MP Keith Martin, a physician, said the strategy "will be terrible for Canada because it will result in increased drug use, increased crime, increased incarceration rates and increased costs to the taxpayer. This is a failed approach that has had catastrophic consequences in the U.S. It would be utterly foolish for us to adopt this approach in Canada."
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Harper lamented that "currently there are no minimum prison sentences for producing and trafficking dangerous drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine."
"But these are serious crimes," he said. "Those who commit them should do serious time, so we'll introduce new legislation this fall proposing mandatory prison sentences for people convicted of serious drug offences."
He did not say what offences would fall into that category or how long the sentences would be, but he did not mention marijuana in connection with mandatory sentencing.
He promised new money for drug investigations and prosecutions, bigger campaigns to identify and close drug labs and marijuana grow ops, tougher border enforcement to keep drugs out of the country and more RCMP efforts to seize proceeds of crime
Harper stressed that two-thirds of the money in the strategy would go to programs designed to help addicts quit and raise public awareness of the dangers of drugs. The rest, $21.6 million, would go to enforcement efforts.
Liberal MP Keith Martin, a physician, said the strategy "will be terrible for Canada because it will result in increased drug use, increased crime, increased incarceration rates and increased costs to the taxpayer. This is a failed approach that has had catastrophic consequences in the U.S. It would be utterly foolish for us to adopt this approach in Canada."
Full story
Do you believe a tougher aproach to drug crimes is the way to go?
More...