Harper government to unveil get-tough national drug strategy

[Big Wooly Mammoth]

Tories ignorant new policy

some excerpts:

There's also a health-care cost element to suggesting to young people that using illicit drugs is OK, the minister said.

What the hell does that mean? Drug use leads to poor health outcomes. Which means that drug use should be lowered. Thus a focus on prevention, cessation, harm reduction, denormalization, etc., is warranted. That's where the money should be spent. The Tories response - let's put more people in jails.

At a Canadian Medical Association meeting last month, he was quoted saying "harm reduction, in a sense, takes many forms. To me, prevention is harm reduction. Treatment is harm reduction. Enforcement is harm reduction."

The following day, a petition signed by over 130 physicians and scientists was released, condemning the Conservative government's "potentially deadly" misrepresentation of the positive evidence for harm reduction programs.

Vancouver's Insite safe injection clinic is facing a December 31 deadline for the renewal of a federal exemption that allows it to operate.

Critics of the Conservative government's approach to illicit drug use say the federal government would be making a serious mistake by failing to renew the exemption.

"I think there's very little chance that Mr. Clement will extend the safe injection site's permit to continue," says Dr. Keith Martin, a British Columbia Liberal MP and former substance-abuse physician.

"But in doing that they will be essentially committing murder."

Evidence-based decision making. What's that?

We NEED an election soon. I'm just not at all convinced that these bozos will lose.

[jonyak]

what about alcohol and tobacco? since when were they healthy?

Edited September 30, 2007 by Guest

[Big Wooly Mammoth]

Maybe Tony Clement should go see these movies and learn something.

Cannabis culture lights up the festival

Films about marijuana are challenging viewers' thoughts about the politics behind the drug

[StoneMtn]

Either that, or they're being viewed by hordes of people who already support the idea of de-demonizing pot.

I hope you're right.

[Big Wooly Mammoth]

Either that, or they're being viewed by hordes of people who already support the idea of de-demonizing pot.

I hope you're right.

Those weren't my words - they were the byline in that article. Unfortunately, I don't think they would have any effect on those individuals, such as Harper and Clement who have closed-minded views.

[StoneMtn]

Oh, sorry. I didn't realize that was a quote.

It sounds like you and I are equally cynical that these movies do much to help correct the propaganda-created perspective of the masses and powers-that-be.

[color:purple]Thanks Nancy Reagan!

[d_rawk]

We NEED an election soon. I'm just not at all convinced that these bozos will lose.

Rightly so -- they wouldn't. An election called now would put the Libs into a deep coma that would take more than the national share of smelling salts from which to wake them. Given the choice between a Conservative minority and the potential for a Conservative majority, I'd rather just cut my losses and run with what we've got, hoping in the meantime that either electoral reform gets the consent of the (arbitrarily high number required) people (fat chance) or that the opposition pulls itself together and gets some traction.

I love elections, but would rather put a gun in my mouth than see one called today.