aq roams News Harper Government Unveils Historic New Dru By Garth McLennan, News Editor O,. November 20, Prime Minister Steven Harper’s Conservative government proposed groundbreaking legislation that will impose mandatory sentences on a variety of drug crimes. The new laws include an unavoidable one-year jail sentence for drug dealing with possession of a weapon, or dealing drugs as an agent for organized crime. A two-year prison term will be handed down for dealing cocaine, heroin or methamphetamines to minors, as well as dealing them at or around school or place commonly attended by minors. A compulsory six-month stay is will be the new punishment for growing one or more pot plants with the intention of selling and distributing the weed, while a mandatory two-year prison sentence will face individuals convicted of operating a pot grow-op containing g Laws minimum of 500 plants. Similarly, the maximum penalties for cannabis related crimes will increase from seven to 14 years. However, while the new laws do indeed toughen up drug penalties, the Conservatives have put forward a section in their new legislation allowing for the exemption of certain convicts under the stipulation that they complete court sponsored drug treatment programs. Currently, there are no set prison terms outlined for those convicted by the terms of the act. It is up to Canada’s judges to decide the best punishment through a case-by-case system. The new alterations in the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act are designed to eliminate those at the base of the present, massive drug business plaguing provinces across Canada. Steven Harper and his government have promoted the new legislation as their way of keeping a campaign promise to “harden up” on crime, and the anticipated changes to the drugs and substances act are the latest measure in the Conservatives crusade against the country’s powerful and profitable drug industry. Harper and his Conservative administration have previously introduced bills cracking down on repeat and violent offenders, and another set of new laws have been constructed in order to keep suspected youth criminals in prison until their trial date. Predictably, there has already been strong opposition to the newly introduced drug laws. Critics have claimed that the new rules will imprison up to 700 new inmates per year, something that the already overloaded Canadian penitentiary system will have great difficulty coping with. Also, it has been said that the cost of housing hundreds of new prisoners per year will lead to an increase in the funds paid to the government by taxpayers. “We're going to spend a lot more money putting people in jail, which doesn’t make any sense, because [marijuana] is a whole lot less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco.” says SFU professor Neil Boyd. Criminal attorney Eugene Oscapella from the University of Ottawa is convinced that cleaning up the minor street dealers through the new legislation will only increase the surging profitability of Canadian organized crime. He says that with lesser competition wiped or pushed out, organized crime groups could form monopolies on the drug trade and drastically raise prices. “Tougher penalties for people who produce and traffic drugs will only scare the mom and pop producers, and organized crime will fill the gap. Organized crime doesn’t care about the law. With these changes, this government is doing a service for organized crime.”