JUSTICE SYSTEM DIVIDED ON POT

Lawyers, Cops Take Opposite Sides on Legalization

"God bless them.... I think it's a good thing," said lawyer John
Liddle, president of the Windsor Criminal Lawyers Association.

Liddle said he is frequently called upon to defend in court "these
poor kids" charged criminally with simple possession of marijuana.

Saying his opinion reflects "the general attitude of our members,"
Liddle believes Canada is "one step away" from decriminalizing pot and
that the further step of full legalization will be a fact "within our
lifetimes."

Not by a long shot, however, if Ottawa lawmakers listen to the
police.

'Huge Mistake'

"It's absolutely ridiculous ... a huge, huge mistake," said Windsor
police Chief Glenn Stannard.

"It's somewhat mind-boggling," said John Moor, administrator of the
Windsor Police Association, which represents front-line cops.

"The government has laid down laws that a 19-year-old can't go into a
corner store and purchase a pack of Players (cigarettes) ... but here,
a 16-year-old will be able to go into a government-run store and
purchase marijuana?"

The senators, following two years of cross-country consultations, say
the current system of prohibition doesn't work and should be replaced
by a regulated system, perhaps similar to that used for alcohol, for
anyone 16 and over.

"Do you want your 16-year-old daughter going to the corner store to
buy a pack of marijuana? I don't think that's what our community
wants," said Stannard.

"It's illegal because it's harmful."

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon, who has suggested that simple
possession of pot should be decriminalized, said the federal
government will decide on the matter after a House of Commons
committee issues its report on illicit drugs, expected in November.

Local prosecutors and the courts have been softening their approach
toward offenders charged with marijuana possession for personal use.

"There's been a marked difference in the way our office approaches
such cases ... the courts do not view cannabis marijuana as a social
evil in the way they view heroin or cocaine or ecstasy," says Richard
Pollock, the lead federal prosecutor for Windsor and Essex County.

Pollock estimated that nearly half of first-time offenders in
marijuana possession cases receive absolute or conditional discharges.

"It's extremely rare, even under the most aggravating circumstances,
that an offender is sentenced to jail," Pollock said.

Alternative Sentence

First-time adult offenders caught with five grams or less of marijuana
- - good for a dozen rolled joints - can apply for "diversion" in
which the crown withdraws the criminal charge if the offender agrees
to community service or a charitable donation, typically $100 to $200.

That compares to a criminal code conviction that allows for a maximum
fine of $1,000 and six months in jail, although a jail term is
"extremely rare" even for a repeat offender, Pollock said.

"The diversion avenue is a type of amnesty ... consistent with
deterrence. The hope is, having been brought through the criminal
system, the offender takes note and will not repeat," Pollock said.

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DRUG CHARGES STATIC

Windsor police statistics show the number of drug charges laid
annually has remained steady the last few years. There were 452 drug
charges in 2001, up 10 per cent from the previous year but almost the
same as the 447 in 1996. At least half of them, a source said, were
for simple possession of marijuana.