LIBERALS TO REINTRODUCE SAME BILL

OTTAWA -- The Martin Liberals plan to bring back the same piece of pot
legislation that died when Parliament adjourned last month instead of making
any immediate amendments.

Instead of lowering the bar for the amount of marijuana possession that will
be decriminalized, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said he will "maintain the
legislative policy docket as it was."

That means the bill, to be introduced along with several other failed
justice bills, will propose decriminalization of 15 grams or less, so
offenders would be fined instead of slapped with a criminal record.

Fifteen grams is the equivalent of about 15 cigarettes, depending on how
they are rolled.

The government plans to proceed with its decriminalization agenda, despite a
Supreme Court of Canada ruling this week it is within the federal
government's criminal-law power to continue to make marijuana possession a
crime.

Cotler added the bill could be amended by Parliament as it goes through the
legislative process.

"As to the particular details of whether an amount may be lower or a penalty
may be higher, we will re-introduce the bill and then it will be considered
by Parliament, and Parliament may choose to make some refinements," Cotler
said in an interview.

His comments clear up confusion about whether the Liberals would revive the
same bill proposed by the Chretien government.

Former justice minister Martin Cauchon seriously considered lowering the
amount of pot possession that would escape criminal sanctions from 15 grams
to 10, but he backed away from the last-minute change.

Prime Minister Paul Martin, revealing last week that the pot bill would be
re-introduced, hinted he supports lowering the decriminalization amount and
increasing fines for offenders.

The former bill proposed fines of $100 to $400.

In the past, he has said he favours decriminalization of "very, very, very
small amounts."

John Walters, the U.S. director of drug policy for the White House, praised
Martin earlier this week for his apparent tougher stand against drugs.

Meanwhile, Vancouver pot enthusiast David-Malmo Levine, who lost his
marijuana challenge in the Supreme Court this week, said the government
should abandon its decriminalization plans. "Their version of
decriminalization is worse than not doing anything at all," he said.

He said the federal bill will be harder on marijuana users because police
will be more apt to ticket people than charge them criminally.

As a result, Malmo-Levine predicted, police will have a much larger database
of offenders and he said that information could get into the wrong hands,
including U.S. authorities.

His concerns were raised this fall by a special parliamentary committee and
it suggested the government should make it illegal to share information on
marijuana smoking Canadians with foreign jurisdictions.

Cotler would not comment on whether that proposed amendment would be
included in his revived bill.

He did not specify a time frame but it is expected the legislation will be
brought back this winter.

With an election expected this spring, however, it could once again face a
tight time frame for passage.