MPS CALL FOR RELAXING OF MARIJUANA LAWS

OTTAWA - A Commons committee says anyone caught with small amounts of
marijuana should be fined, rather than given a criminal record.

The Committee on non-medical use of drugs released its report Thursday
in Ottawa.

It recommends that possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana for
personal use should be treated as a civil, rather than criminal offence.

Ontario MP Paddy Torsney said the committee recognized the dangers of
marijuana use, but said the penalty of a criminal record is too harsh.

She said three per cent of Canadians admit to using marijuana at some
point in their lives.

"The punishment exceed the crime, particularly when three in 10
Canadian admit to participating in a criminal activity under the
current laws," she said.

Torsney says the recommendations would not affect the large-scale
cultivation or shipment of marijuana, which would remain a criminal
offence.

But she said the judicial system is spending far too much time
pursuing occasional users of the drug and that the likelihood of
conviction varies from one part of the country to another.

"It's very clear to this committee that there is not an even
application of the law," she said.

Torsney says the committee is concerned about the dangers of pot use,
including memory loss in the short term and lung cancer over the long
term.

She urged governments at all levels to do more to educate the public
and discourage use of marijuana.

But she said the current law is doing nothing to reduce pot
use.

The government had earlier indicated it could act on some of the
recommendations as soon as early next year.