USERS COULD BE FINED AS LITTLE AS $100

For less than 15 grams

OTTAWA - The federal government is considering fining small-time marijuana
users as little as $100 under decriminalization legislation that is expected
to be introduced on Thursday.

Sources say the amount, equivalent to a low-level speeding ticket, was still
under discussion yesterday as Justice Department officials scrambled to put
the finishing touches on their bill. The fine would be handed to people
caught with less than 15 grams of marijuana, the equivalent of about half an
ounce under the imperial system of measurement.

People caught with possession of more than 15 grams would still be subject
to a criminal charge that carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail
and a $1,000 fine.

Small-time users would be governed by the non-criminal Contraventions Act, a
little-used Act that controls such things as driving on federal wharves and
abandoning vessels in a public harbour.

The anticipated penalty for marijuana possession would fall short of the
current maximum fine under the Act of $500.

The amount of pot to be decriminalized is only half the amount recommended
by a special House of Commons committee on illicit drugs, which had proposed
that criminal sanctions be lifted for less than 30 grams.

The Justice Department had indicated it would accept the recommendation, but
suddenly retreated in recent weeks.

A particular concern is the growing prevalence of B.C. bud, a potent stream
of marijuana that put Canada for the first time this year on a White House
list of countries of concern in the war on drugs.

The United States has been pressing Canada to abandon its decriminalization
plan, warning that it would lead to delays at the border.

The watered-down bill will include stiffer penalties for drug traffickers
and people caught with marijuana grow operations.

To underline the point, Martin Cauchon, the Justice Minister, will present
his plan to U.S. Attorney-General John Ashcroft today.

Mr. Cauchon is expected to stress that marijuana will remain illegal and
that Canada will toughen penalties substantially for marijuana-growing
operations.

He already described the plan briefly to Mr. Ashcroft last week at a Paris
meeting of justice ministers of the G8 leading industrialized nations, but
today's meeting will give a fuller explanation. The bill will be accompanied
by a renewed national drug strategy on drug prevention, education, and
treatment.

Wayne Easter, the Solicitor-General, said yesterday: "We will be coming out
with a package that we believe the Americans will certainly understand where
we're at, as well as Canadians."