GROWING ONE POT PLANT COULD MEAN JAIL UNDER RESURRECTED BILL

The Conservative government revived a bill Friday to impose automatic
jail terms for drug-related crimes, which would send people to jail
for growing as little as one marijuana plant for the purpose of
trafficking.

The proposed legislation, which Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said is
designed to target organized crime, mirrors a 2007 bill that died when
the Oct. 14 general election was called.

"Mandatory prison sentences are appropriate for those who commit
serious drug offences threatening our society," Nicholson said in
Vancouver, where a number of shootings occurring in the last month
have been blamed on gangs and the drug trade.

The proposed legislation would impose six months for growing one to
200 marijuana plants to sell, and two years for big-time growers of
500 plants or more.

There also would be a one-year mandatory jail sentence for marijuana
dealing when it's linked to organized crime or a weapon is involved.

The sentence would be increased to two years for dealing drugs such as
cocaine, heroin or methamphetamines to young people, or for pushing
drugs near a school or other places frequented by youths.

The bill also revives a failed initiative from the previous Liberal
government to increase maximum imprisonment for growers to 14 years,
from the current seven, for running grow operations.

The legislation, however, gives judges leeway to impose suspended
sentences for drug addicts who agree to enter drug treatment programs.

There are already 45 to 50 minimum prison terms in the Criminal Code,
mainly for murder and offences involving firearms.

The current bill would change Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances
Act, which currently contains no mandatory prison terms.

Critics oppose automatic minimum sentences because they eliminate
discretion for judges to impose sentences as they see fit.

Opponents have warned that minimum terms for drugs will flood Canadian
prisons and jails.

The opposition parties warned in the last Parliament they would vote
against the bill, partly because the experience in the United States
has shown that automatic sentences have not worked in reducing drug
crime, they said.

Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said he doesn't expect the
Conservatives to build more prisons if the bill passes, because
penitentiaries in Canada are not full.

"We have capacity in our prisons right now. They are not in the
overcrowded situations you might see south of the border," Van Loan
told Canwest News Service.

"The last thing I would want to see is a situation where we leave
criminals on the street, because there is concern we do not have
enough room for them."