From: [e--ca--l] at [fox.nstn.ca] (Eugene Oscapella)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs
Subject: Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy -- drug overdoses
Date: 10 Feb 1995 11:47:43 -0400

The following is the text of a press release issued by the Canadian Foundation 
for Drug Policy on February 9, 1995.

**Foundation praises humane and pragmatic thrust of B.C. Chief Coroner's
report on drug-related deaths**

(Ottawa -- February 9, 1995)  The Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy today expressed
strong support for several key recommendations of the Report of the Task Force into Illicit
Narcotic Overdose Deaths in British Columbia.  The report, released late last month by
British Columbia's Chief Coroner, Vince Cain, argues that currently illegal drugs should be
treated as a health and social problem rather than as one to be dealt with primarily through
the criminal justice system.  

The Foundation called the report "an honest and responsible approach to an issue that is
often clouded by political rhetoric and driven by misunderstanding.  Within a public health
framework the report proposes many humane alternatives to the present punitive system of
drug control.  These alternatives can significantly reduce many of the harms associated with
drugs in Canadian society." 

The report is particularly timely, the Foundation noted, since Parliament is now considering
controversial amendments to Canada's drug laws.  The amendments were introduced in
February 1994 as Bill C-7, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.  The Bill perpetuates
Canada's heavy emphasis on criminal punishment to deal with drugs and stands sharply at
odds with many of Mr. Cain's recommendations. 

The Foundation agrees with Mr. Cain that turning Canadians who use drugs into criminals
and incarcerating them is not the answer.  The criminal law has not been shown to deter
drug use.  Foundation members note further that the criminal law and associated drug
policies, rather than drugs themselves, have caused many of the harms traditionally
associated with drugs.  Accordingly, it strongly supports Mr. Cain's call for an inquiry into 
non-criminal alternatives for the possession and use of specified substances.  

In May 1994, appearing before a Parliamentary subcommittee examining Bill C-7,
Foundation representatives made a similar recommendation, calling for an independent
review of Canada's drug laws and policies.  The Foundation also stresses that there is
already abundant evidence and research available about the damaging effects of current
drug control laws and policies.

Foundation members, however, express their concern about one suggestion contained in
the B.C. Coroner's report -- a consideration of mandatory life sentences, without parole, for
importing and trafficking large quantities of narcotics.  They argue that heavy criminal penalties elsewhere have failed to deter trafficking and importing.  Mandatory minimum
penalties in Canada will prove equally unproductive and continue to waste valuable police
and government resources, as the U.S. experience has shown. 

The Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy is a non-profit organization founded in 1993 by
several of Canada's leading specialists in drug policy.  Its founding members include
psychologists, pharmacologists, lawyers, health policy advocates and public policy
researchers.  

The aims of the Foundation include acting as a forum for the exchange of views among
those interested in reform of drug policies; serving as a vehicle for sharing those views and
for discussing significant drug policy issues with government, the public, other organizations
and the media; and, where necessary, recommending alternatives that will make Canada's
drug laws and policies effective and humane.  The Foundation does not encourage harmful
drug use.

Contact:

Professor Bruce Alexander, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C.
(604) 291-4124 

Professor Line Beauchesne, Department of Criminology, University of Ottawa (613) 564-4019 (for
inquiries in French) 

Professor Barry Beyerstein, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C. 
(604) 291-3743 

Professor Neil Boyd, Department of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, B.C. (604) 291-3515 and
(604) 947-9569 (home) 

Dr. Patricia Erickson, Addiction Research Foundation, Toronto (416) 595-6913 

Glenn A. Gilmour, Barrister and Solicitor, Ottawa (613) 235-4566

Eugene Oscapella, Barrister and Solicitor, former chair, Drug Policy Group, Law Reform Commission
of Canada, Ottawa (613) 238-5909 

Dr. Diane Riley, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto (416) 978-1101 

Professor Eric Single, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, University of Toronto (416)
978-1772  

Mr. Jan Skirrow, former Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, Cowichan
Bay, B.C. (604) 746-8577 

Professor Robert Solomon, Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario  (519) 661-3603