-
DPMC Moderators: tryptakid
Canada: Get-tough plan on drugs doomed
- Thread starter retired_chemist
- Start date
diche
Bluelighter
the harder they crackdown, the deeper drugs go underground.
Coolio
Greenlighter
- Joined
- Feb 29, 2004
- Messages
- 6,938
qwe, how does organized religion explain the big CHANGE or regression? Canada, Netherlands, France, etc. were all ultra-liberal a decade ago. Suddenly they're in lockstep with the Bush administration? Is this widespread election fraud, or did someone poison the water supplies in these countries and the majority of voters have forgotten why their countries were great?
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2006
- Messages
- 19,423
What happened here in canada was people eventually got so sick of the liberals that the conservatives finally got enough votes to win a minority government. The government they have put in place is the most republican like and repressive that canada has ever had so it's a big change for sure.
We do have our religious right wing nut jobs just like the US does it's just that nobody pays attention to them here
. Unfortunately some of them are smart enough to find a ballot box and they voted for Harpers ultra conservative government. Mind you when he was campaining he kept the radical loud mouths that where left over from the reform party under wraps as much as he could. He basically told them to shut up because he knew that if the canadian people knew what kind of government he was going to bring in he most likely would not win.
Most of these right wingers are out in alberta and some parts of BC and he basically needs quebec and ontario to win. If you don't win quebec you don't win the election. But some of the rich bastards on Bay street and well rich bastards in general also like stevies tax cut's so he get's votes there as well.
But if history has taught us nothing else it's that this government will fall as hard as the previous PROGRESSIVE conservative government eventually. The conservatives won't last because canadians will get sick of there policies and they will get the royal boot.
You also have to remember that the body bags are coming home from afghanistan and increasingly alot of them are bodies from quebec who will turn on the conservatives quicker then the rest of the country. They generally get sick of fuckheads like Harper before the rest of canadians.
We do have our religious right wing nut jobs just like the US does it's just that nobody pays attention to them here
. Unfortunately some of them are smart enough to find a ballot box and they voted for Harpers ultra conservative government. Mind you when he was campaining he kept the radical loud mouths that where left over from the reform party under wraps as much as he could. He basically told them to shut up because he knew that if the canadian people knew what kind of government he was going to bring in he most likely would not win.Most of these right wingers are out in alberta and some parts of BC and he basically needs quebec and ontario to win. If you don't win quebec you don't win the election. But some of the rich bastards on Bay street and well rich bastards in general also like stevies tax cut's so he get's votes there as well.
But if history has taught us nothing else it's that this government will fall as hard as the previous PROGRESSIVE conservative government eventually. The conservatives won't last because canadians will get sick of there policies and they will get the royal boot.
You also have to remember that the body bags are coming home from afghanistan and increasingly alot of them are bodies from quebec who will turn on the conservatives quicker then the rest of the country. They generally get sick of fuckheads like Harper before the rest of canadians.
diche
Bluelighter
harper is a little bicth. kinda like the guy standing under the umbrella (USA), but not holding it. if that makes any sence
EntheoDjinn
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2005
- Messages
- 1,127
Is it just me, or does anyone else find the first suggestion in this sentence immensely patronising?
E
yellodolphin
Bluelighter
i feel that comment personally "the parties over" for drug users like me. Not its not we are all gonna do drugs like weve been doing and your not gonna change anything.
what upsets me too is we are getting to contribute valuble information on addiction from studies so we need a tolerance for addiction as a medical problem.
what upsets me too is we are getting to contribute valuble information on addiction from studies so we need a tolerance for addiction as a medical problem.
EntheoDjinn said:Is it just me, or does anyone else find the first suggestion in this sentence immensely patronising?
E
I have said before that treating drug use as a medical problem starts to make all drug use seem like pathology, recreational users are just nascent addicts or drug use itself is indicative of a disorder.
On the flip side treating it as a vice or character flaw leads to its own brand of persecution ALA throw them in jail til they learn their lesson.
The real solution is for people to mind their own fucking lives and stop trying to label everyone else, so the situation is hopeless basically heh.
And once again the Pendulum swings, because being human is being extreme. We will never settle in the middle. As they attempt to harshly punish drugs they will be rebuffed, and a bunch of liberals will then take office, swinging it the other way to retaliate. The pendulum will never stop.
8) ^ yes I agree. that is the way it seems to go. That way it sort of keeps things in relative balance.
Of course this only matters if Harper manages to hang onto the prime ministrership.
I think he wants to trigger a non confidence vote for his budget speach and force an election. hopefully he will get his act kicked, however, this looks unlikely at present. Dion and his liberals are floundering about and don't seem to have strong clear gamepaln at the moment. if he can get it together then maybe we have a chance.
Canada has had primarily liberal governments for the most part in modern times. the few conservative govs we've had have all been pretty much failures. The are much more black and white capitalists and authoritarians which Canadians can only tolerate for so long.
Things are always changing. Wonder if they'll stop the 'compassion clubs'?
The problem with conservatives is they want to live in a 'leave it to beaver' world. I don't think they've noticed things change.
I cannot trust a guy who wears lipstick and has plastic hair. in fact i think he's made of plastic. Never smiles. He's an android.8)
Of course this only matters if Harper manages to hang onto the prime ministrership.
I think he wants to trigger a non confidence vote for his budget speach and force an election. hopefully he will get his act kicked, however, this looks unlikely at present. Dion and his liberals are floundering about and don't seem to have strong clear gamepaln at the moment. if he can get it together then maybe we have a chance.
Canada has had primarily liberal governments for the most part in modern times. the few conservative govs we've had have all been pretty much failures. The are much more black and white capitalists and authoritarians which Canadians can only tolerate for so long.
Things are always changing. Wonder if they'll stop the 'compassion clubs'?
The problem with conservatives is they want to live in a 'leave it to beaver' world. I don't think they've noticed things change.
I cannot trust a guy who wears lipstick and has plastic hair. in fact i think he's made of plastic. Never smiles. He's an android.8)
panic_the_digital
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2006
- Messages
- 1,172
I know this sucks, but obviously the governemnt doesn't believe enough in getting tough on drugs if this is all they are spending.
diche
Bluelighter
edarrin said:
hehe yea. he looks like he just came froma beating seshion
edarrin said:
Dion is not on the right track at all. He might not be there for the next elections. People in his party are making racist comments agaisnt the french people (happened this weekend again
) and the past liberal government stole HUNDREDS of millions of the tax payer money!
drunken_etard
Bluelighter
Coolio said:
makes yeah think a bit..eh?
Jamshyd
Bluelight Crew
I think you're being a bit optimistic about how enlightened your avarage-joe canadian is.edarrin said:
I totally lost my last bit of faith in Canadian politics after someone told me that he voted conservative because he is christian, and that the word "conservative" sounds more christian than the word "liberal".
Heh.
diche
Bluelighter
^WOW
enlighted said:Dion is not on the right track at all. He might not be there for the next elections. People in his party are making racist comments agaisnt the french people (happened this weekend again
Meh, any government does that, they just got nailed for it. Bu I agree with you Dion is NOT a leader to defeat the current PM, the reason people are making comments like that is because we need a leader that can speak fluently in BOTH official languages, a lot of people have hard time understanding what Dion says in English. Sorry to get off topic.
NDP or Green FTW!!
Yea im with you Jamshyd, i haven't seen any actions or heard any words to lead me to believe that your average Canadian is very different from your average American or Australian etc etc We still have a shitload of dumb as fuck citizens who vote for all the wrong reasons...
Yea im with you Jamshyd, i haven't seen any actions or heard any words to lead me to believe that your average Canadian is very different from your average American or Australian etc etc We still have a shitload of dumb as fuck citizens who vote for all the wrong reasons...
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2006
- Messages
- 19,423
The christians don't count for much as voters in canada. Not nearly as much as the US anyway because well nobody really listens to them. We don't have the big lobby groups that they do in the US which is a really good thing so they don't have much power at all.
So i think once everybody gets sick of harper's bullshit the conservatives will be out of power again for another 10 years or so. You got the war going on, all these backwards polices he's putting in place or atleast trying to and let's face it the guy has all the personality of a fucking rock. So people will eventually get sick of him and boot him the fuck out.
There are alot of dumb canadian voters but you have to remember the conservatives didn't defeat the liberals. The liberals defeated themselves by years of scandals and all the rest of the crap. Plus they where in power for so goddamn long the people got sick of them.
So i think once everybody gets sick of harper's bullshit the conservatives will be out of power again for another 10 years or so. You got the war going on, all these backwards polices he's putting in place or atleast trying to and let's face it the guy has all the personality of a fucking rock. So people will eventually get sick of him and boot him the fuck out.
There are alot of dumb canadian voters but you have to remember the conservatives didn't defeat the liberals. The liberals defeated themselves by years of scandals and all the rest of the crap. Plus they where in power for so goddamn long the people got sick of them.
SA
Bluelight Crew
Prevention and punishment focus of new drug law
Thu. Oct. 4
CTV.ca News Staff
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced a two-pronged anti-drug campaign, focusing on prevention for users and harsher penalties for producers.
At the heart of the announcement was the introduction of mandatory sentences for people convicted of serious drug charges.
"Currently there are no minimum prison sentences for producing and trafficking dangerous drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine," Harper said Thursday. "These are serious crimes. Those who commit them should do serious time."
The announcement was part of a strategy providing $63.8 million over two years to prevent illegal drug use in young people, treat people who have drug addictions and fight illegal drug crime.
The new law, to be introduced by the minority government when Parliament resumes in October, was touted as a balance between prevention and punishment.
Harper outlined the plan in Winnipeg alongside Health Minister Tony Clement and Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.
Harper said about two-thirds of the new funding will go towards prevention and treatment for those caught in the world of drugs and want to get out.
"Interdiction by itself is not going to be enough," Harper said. "We need new laws to free them from drugs when they get hooked."
Harper said for too long, governments had sent "mixed messages" about the prohibition of drugs, referring to a failed Liberal-government motion to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana possession.
"It's time to get straight with Canadians so Canadians can get straight, because narcotics destroy lives," he said.
Funding for prevention
On Thursday, Clement praised the announcement for focusing on the safety of Canada's children.
"One day they'll grow up to be successful adults," he said. "But sadly, all of this could be put at risk when young people are offered drugs before they are mature enough to grasp the magnitude of the consequences of their actions."
He said the new policy will put an emphasis on educating Canadians, especially young people and their parents, about the negative effects of illicit drugs.
Prevention and treatment methods to be financed include:
* A national awareness campaign targeted at youth and parents
* Modernization of treatment services
* Development of new treatment options
* Expansion of treatment programs for addicted youth
* New funding for provinces and territories to expand rehabilitation facilities
* New funding for a National Youth Intervention Program, so police can get young drug users more quickly into assessment and treatment programs
The government will also invest $9.6 million per year with The Community Initiatives Fund, which will offer financial assistance to communities and organizations that address factors that lead to illicit drug use, Clement said.
During the announcement, Harper said that the government currently spends $1.2 billion each year on substance abuse programs. Regardless of this, drug use among teens and young people is rising.
Funding for punishment
Thursday's announcement included $21.6 million to fund the battle against drug producers and traffickers, Day said.
The Conservative government said tens of billions in dollars worth of drug profits are used to fund other criminal activities, making drug trafficking a highly lucrative business in Canada that fuels personal greed by exploiting the addictions of other people.
"There are people out there who know very well what they're doing," Day said. "They are very cognizant that they destroy lives, and that does not stop them from what they do."
Along with mandatory minimum sentences, new steps will include:
* More funding for officers and prosecutors focused on drug crime
* More resources for identifying and closing down grow-ops and manufacturing sites
* Cracking down on drug smuggling across the border, including better awareness for border officers
* New legislation to control substances and chemicals commonly used in drug production
Canada will also share information with officers in Seattle and New York in relation to the cross-border drug trade, Day said.
Harper did not outline what the mandatory minimums would be, or what serious drug offences they would be implemented against.
He said that would be done by the health minister closer to its announcement in parliament.
Marijuana use
The Conservatives quashed a bill from the previous Liberal government decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana shortly after coming to power last year -- despite support for the resolution in the House of Commons from every other party.
Since then, drug-related arrests have spiked dramatically across the country with a number of Canadian cities reporting arrest increases by more than one-third.
Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Halifax all reported increases of between 20 and 50 per cent in 2006 of arrests for possession of cannabis, compared with 2005 statistics.
Police forces claim many people believed the Liberal bill had passed, prompting users to spark up in public without fear of reprisal.
As a result, thousands of people were charged with criminal offences that would have been classified as a misdemeanour under the previous Liberal government.
Legal experts argued earlier this year that inconsistencies in Canada's marijuana laws made it difficult for the justice system to handle the sudden influx of possession cases brought before the courts under the Conservative government's new focus on enforcement.
Other critics claim the crackdown on marijuana is a waste of taxpayers' money and some drug-dependency experts have also challenged the notion that the substance is a 'gateway' to harder drugs.
They argue that marijuana actually keeps users from experimenting with other drugs.
CTV
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thu. Oct. 4
CTV.ca News Staff
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced a two-pronged anti-drug campaign, focusing on prevention for users and harsher penalties for producers.
At the heart of the announcement was the introduction of mandatory sentences for people convicted of serious drug charges.
"Currently there are no minimum prison sentences for producing and trafficking dangerous drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine," Harper said Thursday. "These are serious crimes. Those who commit them should do serious time."
The announcement was part of a strategy providing $63.8 million over two years to prevent illegal drug use in young people, treat people who have drug addictions and fight illegal drug crime.
The new law, to be introduced by the minority government when Parliament resumes in October, was touted as a balance between prevention and punishment.
Harper outlined the plan in Winnipeg alongside Health Minister Tony Clement and Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.
Harper said about two-thirds of the new funding will go towards prevention and treatment for those caught in the world of drugs and want to get out.
"Interdiction by itself is not going to be enough," Harper said. "We need new laws to free them from drugs when they get hooked."
Harper said for too long, governments had sent "mixed messages" about the prohibition of drugs, referring to a failed Liberal-government motion to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana possession.
"It's time to get straight with Canadians so Canadians can get straight, because narcotics destroy lives," he said.
Funding for prevention
On Thursday, Clement praised the announcement for focusing on the safety of Canada's children.
"One day they'll grow up to be successful adults," he said. "But sadly, all of this could be put at risk when young people are offered drugs before they are mature enough to grasp the magnitude of the consequences of their actions."
He said the new policy will put an emphasis on educating Canadians, especially young people and their parents, about the negative effects of illicit drugs.
Prevention and treatment methods to be financed include:
* A national awareness campaign targeted at youth and parents
* Modernization of treatment services
* Development of new treatment options
* Expansion of treatment programs for addicted youth
* New funding for provinces and territories to expand rehabilitation facilities
* New funding for a National Youth Intervention Program, so police can get young drug users more quickly into assessment and treatment programs
The government will also invest $9.6 million per year with The Community Initiatives Fund, which will offer financial assistance to communities and organizations that address factors that lead to illicit drug use, Clement said.
During the announcement, Harper said that the government currently spends $1.2 billion each year on substance abuse programs. Regardless of this, drug use among teens and young people is rising.
Funding for punishment
Thursday's announcement included $21.6 million to fund the battle against drug producers and traffickers, Day said.
The Conservative government said tens of billions in dollars worth of drug profits are used to fund other criminal activities, making drug trafficking a highly lucrative business in Canada that fuels personal greed by exploiting the addictions of other people.
"There are people out there who know very well what they're doing," Day said. "They are very cognizant that they destroy lives, and that does not stop them from what they do."
Along with mandatory minimum sentences, new steps will include:
* More funding for officers and prosecutors focused on drug crime
* More resources for identifying and closing down grow-ops and manufacturing sites
* Cracking down on drug smuggling across the border, including better awareness for border officers
* New legislation to control substances and chemicals commonly used in drug production
Canada will also share information with officers in Seattle and New York in relation to the cross-border drug trade, Day said.
Harper did not outline what the mandatory minimums would be, or what serious drug offences they would be implemented against.
He said that would be done by the health minister closer to its announcement in parliament.
Marijuana use
The Conservatives quashed a bill from the previous Liberal government decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana shortly after coming to power last year -- despite support for the resolution in the House of Commons from every other party.
Since then, drug-related arrests have spiked dramatically across the country with a number of Canadian cities reporting arrest increases by more than one-third.
Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Halifax all reported increases of between 20 and 50 per cent in 2006 of arrests for possession of cannabis, compared with 2005 statistics.
Police forces claim many people believed the Liberal bill had passed, prompting users to spark up in public without fear of reprisal.
As a result, thousands of people were charged with criminal offences that would have been classified as a misdemeanour under the previous Liberal government.
Legal experts argued earlier this year that inconsistencies in Canada's marijuana laws made it difficult for the justice system to handle the sudden influx of possession cases brought before the courts under the Conservative government's new focus on enforcement.
Other critics claim the crackdown on marijuana is a waste of taxpayers' money and some drug-dependency experts have also challenged the notion that the substance is a 'gateway' to harder drugs.
They argue that marijuana actually keeps users from experimenting with other drugs.
CTV
--------------------------------------------------------------