Canada's plans to beef up its illicit drug enforcement laws with some "get tough" policies are the subject of heated debate in that country. After the new Conservative government's Health Minister Tony Clement said "the party's over" for illicit drug users, critics wasted no time attacking what they call a U.S.-style war on drugs, saying it has already proven a failure in stopping violent drug crime and drug addiction. On the plus side, however, the new laws will provide substantial additional funding for preventive education and drug rehab programs.

The $64-million annual anti-drug strategy will include stronger penalties for drug offenders (which includes illicit drug users), additional funding to crack down on drug smuggling at the borders, a campaign to warn young people not to use drugs, and increased financial support for drug rehab treatment facilities. The government's recent budget suggests the $64 million would be split 15% for prevention, 35% for law enforcement and 50% for drug rehab.

The prior Liberal government was on the verge of making possession of small amounts of marijuana a misdemeanor, but the new Conservative government scrapped that plan and has pursued a vigorous policy of arrests for possession of drugs. Since the Conservatives took power, the number of arrests for cannabis use has skyrocketed in several Canadian cities, in some cases by more than a third. The cities of Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax and Vancouver experienced 20 to 50 per cent increases in arrests for possession of cannabis in 2006, compared with the previous year. Other drug abuse statistics continued to rise in the country last year, and drug rehab admissions also were up.

Health Minister Clement said that suggesting to young people that it's okay to use illicit drugs is wrong, because drugs are unhealthy. "They create poor health outcomes. For too long, governments in Canada have been sending the wrong message about drug use. It's time to take a tougher approach to dealing with the problem."

While many critics approve of the new law's additional support for law enforcement to go after traffickers and organized crime and for additional drug rehab and other treatment services, they say that the $64 million is inadequate and is directed to the wrong priorities. Substance abuse is a medical problem, they said, not a moral one, and a medical approach based on recovery and drug rehab is the only correct solution for drug addicts, not expensive jail time.

An opposition-party Member of Parliament, who is also a doctor, said the government's plans are "a triumph of ideology over science. I can't understand why the Conservatives are embracing a war-on-drugs approach that has proven to fail. By all means, go after the pushers. By all means, absolutely go after the organized crime gangs that are the real parasites in this situation." But, he added, the country should see drug addiction as a medical problem, and adopt the successful drug rehab program models that have proven to work in other countries.