Canada is also renowned among the criminal element for having the some of most comfortable prisons, along with one of the most lenient judicial systems in the civilized world. I'm not sure why we as a nation have decided to promote an environment that actively encourages criminal behaviour or does absolutely nothing to discourage it.

Consider some of the delightful aspects of being a criminal in Canada:

1. Double or even triple time credit for pre-trial custody. 2. Bail routinely granted for even the most serious of offences. 3. Reasonable likelihood of being sentenced to house arrest instead of incarceration. 4. Crime solvency rates fluctuate from about only 13% to 25% throughout the country, and arrested does not mean convicted. 5. Mandatory release from custody for the final one third of your sentence. 6. Numerous appeals and faint hope parole hearings for even the most heinous crimes, all taxpayer funded ( ex. Robert Pickton and Clifford Olson ).

Now for drug abuse:

1. Manitoba Health-funded local program to provide free crack pipe kits to crack users. 2. Safe Injection Sites ( Vancouver ) for intravenous drug users, again funded through health care dollars.

There are other similar "harm reduction" programs in many other jurisdictions. These are not drug rehab or addictions recovery. They exist to reduce risks when engaging in drug use. If that's not enabling I don't know what is.

In a United Nations report released yesterday, Canadian drug lords were painted as sharing their patriot love for synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine and Ecstasy with nations around the world, making Canada a major trafficking hub in today's trans-national market.

But this comes as no surprise to local law enforcement, who have seen an increasing number of clandestine labs producing much more amphetamine type stimulants ( ATS ) than our domestic market can hold.

If you can judge the amount of drugs in a country by the amount of drugs that are seized -- which is partly what the UN Office on Drugs and Crime has done -- our famed home-grown Cannabis isn't as worrisome as ATS on a global scale.

"Canada has emerged an important hub for ecstasy and amphetamines," Antonio Maria Costa told a news conference Wednesday in the U.S. capital as he released the agency's 2009 World Drug Report.

Costa said the lucrative underground industry of manufacturing amphetamines has migrated north to Canada since both the U.S. and Mexico banned the chemical precursors used to make the drugs.

"These important measures taken by countries inevitably tend to create a problem somewhere else unless similar measures are undertaken," he said.

He was one of the legislature's brightest young political staffers during Premier Gordon Campbell's first term in office: Smart, popular, good-looking, a sharp dresser and a sharper talker, Marshall Smith seemed to have it all.

Cruising the corridors of power with an easy confidence that belied his 28 years, he'd whisper advice to cabinet ministers one minute, spin a scrum of reporters the next, then crack up his fellow Liberal insiders with an always-ready joke.

"The Minister of Social Planning," they nicknamed him, because Smith was the guy who organized all the after-work parties. In any number of bars near Government Street, you'd find the ministerial aide whooping it up long after the legislature had shut for the night.

"I was on top of the world and having a blast," he recalls now, even travelling to Prague with Campbell for the announcement of Vancouver's winning Olympic bid. He was introduced to Henry Kissinger and hob-nobbed with Olympic glitterati.

A task force struck to tackle crystal meth use in Grey-Bruce will make recommendations to prevent and treat addicts within six to nine months, said its co-chairwoman, Sandy Stockman.

Use of the street drug cuts across all walks of life, but it’s becoming more prevalent among youth, particularly young women, she said yesterday in an interview.

Indicators that the problem is growing include that 8% or 9% of clients in two local youth addiction treatment programs are addicted to meth, she said. About 60% to 70% of people facing charges in court who are assisted by a local Canadian Mental Health Association court support worker use meth.

Anecdotal surveys taken also suggest the use of crystal methamphetamine is growing, said Stockman, executive director of the Grey Bruce Community Health Corporation.

The highly addictive street drug, also called speed and crank, creates euphoria and increased alertness. It also decreases appetite, which is why some take it for weight control, Stockman said.

There are four areas the task force will address: enforcement; harm reduction strategies for police, fire and ambulance crews responding to meth labs and for users through needle exchanges, for example; education and treatment.

Keremeos' village task force on the issue of crystal meth has played an active role in bringing local public attention to the issue. Councillor Manfred Bauer and resident Tim Roberts were personally thanked for their efforts to bring local awareness to the issue by CrystalMeth Executive Director Mark McLaughlin.

McLaughlin also presented the students with a hardhitting documentary presentation called "Death by Jib". The presentation was designed to shock the students into paying attention to the crystal meth issue, and on many levels got across to the students in a very vivid and blunt manner.

"No one in this film woke up making a conscious decision to become a meth addict," McLaughlin pointed out to the group after the film. "Addicts get there through a series of decisions ultimately leading to trying the drug."

Methamphetamines have yet to make a strong presence in the region, but law enforcement officials are keeping a sharp lookout for the highly addictive drug.

The RCMP issued a press release on May 7, warning high school and university students in the Fredericton area to be aware of drug dealers selling meth as other drugs, particularly ecstasy.

That's the message a retired police officer turned drug educator told delegates attending the annual spring meeting of the Georgian Bay Conference of the ELCIC ( Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada ).

"We give our kids medicine and tell them it's safe . . . what we have forgotten to tell them is that drugs are safe only if you follow the rules," Heather Hodgson- Schleich said.

"As soon as a child starts talking, start talking to them, at age appropriate levels, about drugs. Make sure they understand the rules about medicine use. We don't wait for them to be hit before we tell them about traffic safety or talk to them about stranger awareness. It's the same with drugs. The more they know, the better prepared they will be."

At just $5 a pill, the drug promises a cheap and easy way to loosen up, but it nearly cost one Airdrie girl her life.

On May 1 at about midnight, Airdrie RCMP assisted Airdrie Emergency Services ( AES ) in an emergency response to a 17-yearold female who overdosed on methylenedioxymethamphetamine ( MDMA ), commonly known as ecstasy.

The teenager ingested four tablets in a relatively short period of time prior to attending a dance at George McDougall High School. The drug is often used before a party or dance, and causes users to lose their inhibitions. In this case the tablets were white and had the Transformers logo stamped on each of them.

"The individuals who manufacture these products gear them specifically to target children," said Airdrie RCMP Cst. Francine Hennelly.

Perinatal Addiction Treatment of Hawaii, observing its second anniversary, has had 52 births, including two sets of twins, said Wright, founder and medical director of the program.

The clinic's pre-term birth rate is 7.7 percent -- well below state and national averages of 12 percent, she said.

Advocates say the government-funded program is money well spent.

"Given that each pre-term birth costs taxpayers in excess of $56,000, we as taxpayers are getting our money's worth," said Wright.

An assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, Wright developed the clinic as a pilot program on the grounds of the Salvation Army Family Treatment Center in Kaimuki.

The unique program combines prenatal care with substance abuse treatment and counseling and offers parenting workshops, hands-on care with children and classes on healthy habits, nutrition and sewing.

She said 75 percent of the women show up after making the first phone call, and 90 percent stay with the program. "Some women who delivered 20 months ago still call us and keep in touch."

Results are "unbelievable," said Executive Director Renee Schuetter, explaining that 81 percent are drug-free within three months. She said 97 percent have maintained custody of their children eight weeks after birth, and 94 percent have retained custody after six months.

"The secret seems to be that the staff is small and very consistent, open and not judging of them at all, and we allow them to set their goals," said Schuetter, a registered nurse.