FORGET LOOSER POT LAWS

OTTAWA (CP) -- Potheads beware: The Conservative government has no
plans to relax marijuana laws and arrests in some regions are expected to rise.

A spokesman for Justice Minister Vic Toews was brusque when asked
yesterday if the Tories would resurrect Liberal efforts to
decriminalize simple possession of marijuana.

"It is a very short answer and the answer is No," said Mike
Storeshaw. "We have no plans to bring any bill forward."

Liberals were moving to treat possession of less than 15 grams of pot
- -- 20 joints -- as a minor offence punishable by fines of $100 to
$400, much like traffic tickets. But the bill died when the election
was called in November.

"It's dead -- for the time being," said Alan Young, a marijuana
activist and professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. "I think we're in
a dark period right now. They're going after growers and seed
dealers, and more people are being charged with simple possession."