CUTTING GRASS LAW

Feds Move To Lower Penalties For Marijuana Possession

Dartmouth High School students say Ottawa.s new marijuana law won.t make
the drug easier to get.

The proposed law eliminates criminal penalties for possession of 15 grams
of marijuana or less. Instead, police will hand out fines of up to $250 for
youths and $400 for adults.

"It's much easier for us to get marijuana than to get alcohol," said Grade
12 student Erin Dompierre, 18. "It's easier to get pot than to get cigarettes."

The drug "is really simple to get," and police don't seem to pay attention
to young people who smoke it in public, said Grade 12 student Jill Meehan, 17.

"It's pretty lenient now as it is," Meehan said.

Police staged an elaborate sting at the school three years ago, where a
female officer posing as a student made 13 small drug buys. A new Dartmouth
High policy says students who even smell like pot can get suspended.

"People are still going to go to class stoned," said Grade 12 student
Jessie Morin, 18

"Even if it's legal or not."

One 17-year-old who police arrested last fall at the school for marijuana
possession said he got a $125 fine for holding four grams. He scoffed at
the idea of police handing out tickets to people they catch people with pot.

"I don.t even think you should get a ticket," said the teen, whose name is
suppressed by the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

"You already paid for dope. Why should you pay for dope twice."

Meanwhile, over in Halifax, a man who was shining shoes on Granville Street
said he's never been hassled for smoking pot in public.

"I'll sit here and I'll smoke a joint and I don't get bothered," said
Shaun, who refused to give his last name. "I've had a sheriff come by (from
the nearby Halifax Supreme Court) and say 'You shouldn't be smoking that
out in public. You should be going somewheres else to do it.'"

The new law retains the current maximum penalty of life imprisonment for
trafficking. But it boosts the maximum sentence for illegal growers to 14
years in prison from the current seven.

"It really puts the squeeze on for people being able to obtain medication,"
said multiple-sclerosis patient Debbie Stultz-Giffin of Bridgetown.

"I suspect black market marijuana will probably increase drastically in price."