Drug Prevention Network of the Americas Denounces Senate Drug Report as ``Deeply Flawed''.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2002

Canadian and International delegates of the International Taskforce on Strategic Drug Policy, a select committee of Drug Prevention Network of the Americas (DPNA), have denounced the Senate Special Committee on Illicit Drug's conclusion that marijuana use does not lead to harder drugs. The Taskforce was meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia earlier this month to discuss global anti-drug strategies and Canada's increasingly permissive drug policies.

"Canada's central drug strategy should be prevention of substance abuse," said J. Ben Jenkins, DPNA board member and delegate from Nova Scotia. "Harm promotion strategies promote drug use and addiction. Our children are our nation's most precious resource. They deserve truthful information about how illicit drugs poison bodies, destroy families and kill dreams."

The DPNA Taskforce was attending the International Drug Education and Awareness Symposium (IDEAS) conference in Vancouver May 1-3, 2002, an event presented in partnership with Drug Free America Foundation, Inc., when the discussion paper was released.

"As professional and community drug prevention practitioners representing nearly 20 nations, we see this report as deeply flawed and scientifically unfounded," Jenkins stated.

Marijuana use is neither harmless nor inevitable. Increasingly potent marijuana has as much as 10 times more THC content than the pot smoked 20 years ago and is widely available on the illicit market. Marijuana's role as a gateway to "harder" drugs is painfully evident to the nearly 6,000 addicts living in the Vancouver's Downtown East Side, arguably the most drug-infested neighborhood in North America. Approximately 80-percent are heroin and cocaine users. Virtually all began their drug use experience by smoking marijuana.

This point bodes poorly for the future of Canada's youth. Over the past three years in British Columbia, marijuana use has nearly doubled among grade 8-12 students. Nearly 50 percent have smoked marijuana in the past year.

"The Canadian Government should reject policies that promote harm to drug users," Jenkins said. "Marijuana legalization, needle give-away programs and drug permissive strategies ultimately lead to more drugs on our streets and more addicts in our communities. Instead, we should develop an effective strategy based on internationally accredited scientific fact, integrity of approach and compassionate treatment of drug addicts."

Drug Prevention Network of the Americas (DPNA) is a drug prevention organization committed to promoting healthy, drug-free lifestyles. Drug Free America Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit drug education and policy organization working to advance global elimination of illegal drug use, drug addiction and drug-related illnesses and death.