LIBERALS RUSHING MARIJUANA BILL THROUGH HOUSE

The federal government is rushing ahead with its plan to pass a bill to
decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Today the controversial legislation will be debated for three hours and
then handed to a special parliamentary committee -- instead of the busy
justice committee -- in hopes that it will pass through Parliament this
fall.

The bill is expected to be fast-tracked through public hearings, a
process that normally takes several months.

"My concern is this is being rushed through instead of doing this
properly," said Vic Toews, Canadian Alliance justice critic. "We have
significant issues that have not been addressed."

The House of Commons is widely expected to break just before the Liberal
leadership convention in November and not reconvene until
prime-minister-in-waiting Paul Martin replaces Jean Chretien early next
year.

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said the drug bill -- which also seeks
to strengthen penalties against marijuana grow operations -- is a top
priority on a busy fall agenda that could see many legislative proposals
die.

Mr. Martin has been lukewarm on decriminalization and it is expected the
bill will be one of many up for review once Mr. Chretien is out of the
picture. The bill proposes to decriminalize possession of 15 grams or
less, so that people would be fined from $100 to $400 instead of
receiving criminal records.

The bill also proposes to double the maximum jail terms for people
caught with marijuana grow operations, but police have been lobbying for
mandatory minimum sentences instead because they say judges have been
too lenient.

To push the bill through the political process, the current government
is re-creating a disbanded parliamentary committee, which last year
studied the non-medicinal use of drugs. The committee recommended last
December that the government decriminalize marijuana possession. "It's
the committee that has the expertise," Mr. Cauchon said yesterday.
After the committee writes a report, the bill must clear the Commons and
the Senate before becoming law.