POLICE CHIEFS URGE MOVE TO DECRIMINALIZE 'POT'

Tickets proposed for possession of small amounts

OTTAWA -- Simple possession of small amounts of marijuana or hash should be
treated as a civil ticketing offence, not a crime, says the Canadian
Association of Chiefs of Police.

Officers spend too much time and money on minor drug offences, given the
small fines that usually result and have little deterrence, the group says.

"The law is still the law, and we'll all enforce it until the law is
changed," Edmonton police chief John Lindsay, head of the chiefs' lobby
group, said yesterday in a telephone interview. "But I think we're giving a
signal to legislators that it may be time for all of us to reconsider the
legislative regime under which we work."

The policy change approved last week by the association's board of directors
opposes any kind of "legalization" of drugs, and does not extend to any
other narcotics such as cocaine and heroin.

It says possession of 1 gram of cannabis resin or 30 grams of marijuana
should be subject to a regulatory ticket and fine that more properly
reflects the offence and does not leave the stigma of a criminal record.

Under the 1997 Controlled Drugs and Substances Acts [sic], simple drug
possession is a summary conviction offence, subject to a maximum fine of
$1,000 and/or six months jail.

The maximum penalties are rarely levied, said Lindsay. A conviction does
lead to a criminal record, but arrest doesn't trigger photo and fingerprint
identification for future use.

Justice Minister Anne McLeIlan said yesterday she will take a serious look
at the police chiefs' resolution.

"They are a very influential voice in terms of the credibility they have
with the public and with government in terms of how some of these issues are
evolving on the streets."

But Ronald Clavier, a clinical psychologist with the Council on Drug Abuse
in Toronto, warned a move toward decriminalization, while logical from a
police perspective, could send the wrong message "to kids who hear what they
want to hear."