B.C. MARIJUANA POLICY DISMISSED AS TOO CONSERVATIVE

A B.C. push for tougher laws against marijuana grow operations was
torpedoed at the weekend Liberal policy convention here by young activists
who concluded the idea had an excessively Conservative bent.

The policy proposal called for changes to federal legislation now before
Parliament that will decriminalize possession of small amounts of
marijuana, but double maximum penalties for major grow operations from
seven to 14 years.

The B.C. initiative argued grow-ops pose a significant safety and crime
risk and proposed a minimum two-year federal prison term for major operators.

But Liberals at a policy workshop Saturday, who had to select a single
resolution to send to all delegates for a vote, decided by a narrow margin
to send a bill advocating decriminalization of the sex trade.

Ginny Hasselfield, sponsor of the grow-op resolution, said its failure to
make it to the floor is not a defeat.

"I believe the message has been heard and that Parliament will respond,"
Ms. Hasselfield, president of the South Surrey-White Rock-Cloverdale
riding, said yesterday.

But Justice Minister Irwin Cotler dismissed the B.C. idea, even though it
has the support of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

"I have come to the conclusion that minimum sentences serve neither as a
deterrent nor as an effective means of combating, in this instance,
grow-ops," Mr. Cotler told the media.

Ms. Hasselfield -- who watered down her minimum sentence resolution by
removing the specific reference to two years -- drew jeers Saturday when
she presented her case.

Liberals, especially from the party's youth wing, didn't like her attempt
to link tougher laws with the murder last week of four Mounties at an
Alberta grow-op.

"We knew that something drastic was going to happen and we just didn't know
when," Ms. Hasselfield said.

A young female lawyer from Quebec attacked the B.C. idea, saying it's wrong
to remove the judge's discretion.

"We are going backwards if we offer minimum penalties," she said, adding if
she supported that approach she would "cross over to the Conservative party."

Several Liberals said it would be better to simply legalize the consumption
and production of marijuana.

"We also need to maintain a level head and a Liberal head," said one Liberal.

"Do we want a U.S. war-on-drugs approach to this problem, or will we sit
down and consider a Liberal solution?"

But B.C. Liberal Judy Higginbotham said police need help.

"In the Lower Mainland of Vancouver, we have been dealing with this issue
for about eight years. Most RCMP forces are on their knees trying to deal
with this issue because the courts have been giving very lenient sentences."

Grow-ops are often full of illegal weapons and are rigged with booby-traps.

"Let me tell you, grow-ops are crime factories," Ms. Higginbotham added.