TOUGHER MARIJUANA STANCE LIKELY

If Bill Strengthened, Martin Will Revive It After Becoming PM

Paul Martin is putting his considerable political weight behind amendments
that would toughen the government's marijuana bill.

The prime minister-in-waiting would "be more comfortable" with the proposed
legislation if the government came down harder on marijuana growers,
traffickers and repeat offenders, a spokesman for Mr. Martin said yesterday.

"There are rumours that the government may be thinking about toughening up
the penalties and if that were the direction that were taken, he would be
very pleased with that," said Scott Reid. "It would conform to his
perspective."

Mr. Martin's position on unfinished legislation makes a difference because
he will ultimately decide which bills will be revived when Jean Chretien
steps aside as prime minister.

Although Mr. Chretien is trying to fast-track the marijuana legislation so
that it passes this fall, even Liberals doubt it will clear the necessary
hurdles in time, meaning it could be on Mr. Martin's plate when he becomes
prime minister.

The government's proposed bill would decriminalize marijuana possession for
small-time users caught with less than 15 grams by giving fines of $100 to
$400. At the other end, there would be an array of penalties to counter an
escalation in marijuana grow houses run by organized crime, with the
maximum sentence being doubled to 14 years.

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon is considering several amendments that
would make the legislation tougher, including a minimum mandatory sentence
for people convicted of running marijuana growing operations. Critics say
judges routinely impose sentences of six months to one year for the most
serious offenders.

The government might also lower the amount of marijuana that would escape
criminal charges to 10 grams from the current proposal of 15 grams, and
impose criminal sanctions instead of fines on repeat offenders.

Mr. Reid said Mr. Martin supports decriminalization, but would not shed
light on the amount of marijuana the future prime minister thinks should
result in criminal charges.

"He doesn't feel comfortable with determining what that amount should be
because he is not an expert in that area. It's got to be clearly an amount
that is for nothing but personal use."

In the past, Mr. Martin has said only that he supports decriminalization of
"very, very, very small amounts."

Several Liberal backbenchers, along with the Canadian Alliance, say it
should be criminal to possess more than five grams -- about the equivalent
of five cigarettes.

"Do you really need to carry more than that on you?" asked Canadian
Alliance MP Randy White.

The government has given the bill to a special committee to hold public
hearings on the legislation before writing a report for Parliament.

Mr. White, vice-chairman of the committee, predicted it will take several
months to finish public hearings on the controversial bill and "to push it
through would be reckless."

Mr. Reid said Mr. Martin supports the government's approach "by and large."
But there has been wide speculation that the decriminalization component
will be reviewed as Mr. Martin tries to repair Canada's troubled
relationship with the United States.

In Washington yesterday, White House drug czar John Walters underlined that
pressure, accusing the Canadian government of "1970s-era thinking on
marijuana."

Earlier this week, Mr. Walters said that Canadians are ashamed of Mr.
Chretien for joking about smoking a joint after he retires from public office.

"It would be regrettable if our Canadian neighbours continued down a path
that relies on 1970s-era thinking on marijuana, rather than on what we have
learned after 30-plus years of research and heart-wrenching addiction," Mr.
Walters, the director of the White House's National Drug Control Policy
Office, said in a statement.

Mr. Chretien had joked last week in a newspaper interview that he might try
marijuana "when it will no longer be criminal" because he could afford the
small fine imposed if he got caught.

The cross-border drug dispute was also played for laughs at the daily White
House briefing, with questions about Mr. Chretien's marijuana joke drawing
chuckles from the press corps.