3dGameMan
08-12-2005, 06:31 AM
Canadian Crystal meth makers now face life in prison: ~source (http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/08/11/crystal-meth050811.html)
CBC News
People who make, import, sell or possess the super-addictive drug commonly known as crystal meth now face stiffer sentences, the federal government said Thursday.
"The maximum penalty for production and distribution of methamphetamine has increased from 10 years to life in prison," three federal ministers said in a news release.
"Methamphetamine has been moved to Schedule I of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which provides access to the highest maximum penalties."
The change puts crystal meth on par with cocaine and heroin when judges sentence offenders.
The news release, issued by the ministers of Health, Justice and Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, cited the "significant health, social and economic harms" caused by addiction to the synthetic drug, which can be made with ingredients that are readily available to the public.
Meeting with Canada's other premiers in Banff, Alta., Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert welcomed the news.
His province has been dealing with a spiralling crystal meth addiction rate in recent years, as have British Columbia and other western provinces.
"This is not just a western problem," Calvert said. "You will see this become a nationwide issue."
Waving a copy of the U.S. magazine Newsweek, which contained a story calling crystal meth "America's Most Dangerous Drug," the Saskatchewan premier said, "I don't ever want to see that kind of headline on the cover of Macleans."
Federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler says his government is heading the call from communities trying to cope with the ruined lives of young people.
"And we're sending a clear and unambiguous message as to the gravity of the offence by ratcheting up the nature of the sentence to life imprisonment." ...
CBC News
People who make, import, sell or possess the super-addictive drug commonly known as crystal meth now face stiffer sentences, the federal government said Thursday.
"The maximum penalty for production and distribution of methamphetamine has increased from 10 years to life in prison," three federal ministers said in a news release.
"Methamphetamine has been moved to Schedule I of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which provides access to the highest maximum penalties."
The change puts crystal meth on par with cocaine and heroin when judges sentence offenders.
The news release, issued by the ministers of Health, Justice and Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, cited the "significant health, social and economic harms" caused by addiction to the synthetic drug, which can be made with ingredients that are readily available to the public.
Meeting with Canada's other premiers in Banff, Alta., Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert welcomed the news.
His province has been dealing with a spiralling crystal meth addiction rate in recent years, as have British Columbia and other western provinces.
"This is not just a western problem," Calvert said. "You will see this become a nationwide issue."
Waving a copy of the U.S. magazine Newsweek, which contained a story calling crystal meth "America's Most Dangerous Drug," the Saskatchewan premier said, "I don't ever want to see that kind of headline on the cover of Macleans."
Federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler says his government is heading the call from communities trying to cope with the ruined lives of young people.
"And we're sending a clear and unambiguous message as to the gravity of the offence by ratcheting up the nature of the sentence to life imprisonment." ...