LIBERALS MOVE TO LIGHTEN PENALTIES FOR POT USERS, GET TOUGH ON GROWERS

OTTAWA (CP) - The Liberal government moved Tuesday to eliminate
criminal penalties for simple possession of marijuana, drawing praise
from lawyers, cautious support from doctors and brickbats from police,
opposition MPs and some of its own backbenchers.

Under legislation introduced by Justice Minister Martin Cauchon,
possession of up to 15 grams of pot - enough to roll about 15 or 20
joints - would be a minor offence that carries no criminal record.

Violators would be ticketed and ordered to pay fines ranging from $100
to $250 for youths and from $150 to $400 for adults.

People caught with between 15 and 30 grams could get the same
treatment if they're lucky. But they could also, at the discretion of
police, be charged in criminal court and face up to six months in
jail.

While the bill would ease up on small-time users, there would be no
respite for illicit growers and dealers. The maximum sentence for grow
operations would be 14 years in prison, up from the current seven,
with the length of term increasing in proportion to the amount grown.

The penalty for trafficking would remain unchanged - a maximum life
sentence, although in practice the toughest terms handed out in recent
years have been about 20 years for major dealers.

Ottawa also plans to set aside an additional $245 million over the
next five years to beef up law enforcement efforts and to fund
education, information, research and treatment programs aimed at
curbing drug use.

Cauchon, who hopes to push his bill through Parliament by the end of
the year, acknowledged the government is sending a double-edged
message.

Casual pot smokers will no longer face the threat of jail, and young
people won't automatically be saddled with criminal records that haunt
them for life - one of the government's chief reasons for moving ahead
with the changes. But toking up will still be against the law.

"I want to be clear from the beginning," said Cauchon. "We are not
legalizing marijuana and have no plans to do so. What we are changing
is the way we prosecute certain offences."

Health Minister Anne McLellan echoed that view as she outlined the
$245-million education and enforcement plan that accompanied the new
legislation.

"We do not want Canadians to use marijuana," said McLellan. "We
especially don't want young people to use marijuana. That is why an
important part of our drug strategy will focus on strong public
education messages to inform Canadians of the negative health affects
of marijuana."

The Canadian Medical Association welcomed McLellan's commitment to
prevention and treatment but warned more funding will be needed.

"We can only view today's announcement as a first step," said Dr. Dana
Hansen, president of the group.

The Canadian Bar Association congratulated Cauchon for his "courage
and leadership" and called decriminalization of minor possession a
positive move.

"The heavy hand of our criminal law should be reserved for problems
that cause serious harm," said bar president Simon Potter.

But Randy White, the Canadian Alliance critic for police issues,
contended the Liberals should have imposed a five-gram limit if their
goal was to decriminalize possession for personal use.

White predicted that, because of the discretionary aspect of the bill,
30 grams rather than 15 will become the practical cut-off point for
criminal proceedings.

"When you're talking about minor, personal possession and you're
talking in the neighbourhood of 40, 50 joints on you, I doubt very
much whether that is a personal possession."

Dan McTeague, one of several Liberal backbenchers uneasy at the
prospect of decriminalization, said the bill has "serious
deficiencies" and could leave young people with the impression it's
all right to smoke dope.

He also termed the measures against growers inadequate, despite the
14-year maximum sentence.

"Everyone knows you never get the maximum," said McTeague.

Marjory LeBreton, a Conservative senator and vice-chair of Mothers
Against Drunk Driving, said the legislation should not be passed until
provisions against marijuana-impaired driving are strengthened.

Federal officials say anyone driving under the influence of pot can be
prosecuted under the same impaired driving laws that apply to alcohol.
But critics note there is no roadside breathalyser technology for
marijuana and say the laws must be amended to allow police to demand
blood samples.

David Griffin, spokesman for the Canadian Police Association, which
represents some 28,000 rank-and-file officers across the country,
called the federal initiative a "hastily put-together package that is
held together by Band-Aids and duct tape."

Reaction from some provincial governments was also
negative.

"This is not a harmless drug and we shouldn't be introducing this into
the community for our young people to smoke," said Ontario Attorney
General Norm Sterling.

British Columbia, home of the so-called B.C. Bud, was also unhappy
with Ottawa's initiative.

"They don't have any idea how the tickets will be collected; they
don't have any idea how the infrastructure will be set up," said B.C.
Solicitor General Rich Coleman.

"They're going to spend tens of millions of dollars in advertising
what they're doing and putting very little money into fighting the
issues of organized crime with regards to marijuana."

Alberta Justice Minister Dave Hancock said Ottawa is on the wrong
track with its reforms: "I don't think you get rid of crime by
removing the crime from the books and saying it's OK now."

The spectre of decriminalization in Canada has raised the hackles of
some U.S. officials as well, but Solicitor General Wayne Easter, the
minister responsible for the RCMP, played down the American concerns.

"Certainly, there will be probably some reaction," said Easter. "But
they understand that we do have . . . the sovereign right to make our
own laws. And there is a recognition that the current laws are not
working."

U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci, who has warned of potential border
slowdowns as U.S. customs officers pay closer attention to travellers
headed south, was not available for comment Tuesday.

Cauchon noted that a dozen U.S. states have already done away with
criminal sanctions for simple possession of pot.