TORIES DITCH LIBERAL PLANS TO EASE POT LAWS

Decriminalization Of Simple Possession Off The Books

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

A spokesman for Justice Minister Vic Toews was brusk when asked 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."

Public toking became more common in parts of Canada as the former
government moved to loosen laws. Three young men walking along
Ottawa's Wellington Street openly passed a joint between them Tuesday
as they strolled through the shadow of Parliament's Peace Tower.

But police in some areas are once again cracking down.

"I think we're in a dark period right now," said Alan Young, a
marijuana activist and professor at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto.

"They're going after growers and seed dealers, and more people are
being charged with simple possession."

Liberals moved to treat possession of less than 15 grams of pot --
roughly 20 joints -- as a minor offence punishable by fines of $100
to $400, much like traffic tickets.

But the most recent related bill died when the last federal election
was called in November.

Before that, the Liberals were harshly rebuked by legislators in the
United States. Former American ambassador Paul Cellucci hinted of
border tie-ups if Canadian pot laws were eased.

U.S. protests continued despite the fact that several U.S. states
have already decriminalized marijuana in much the same way.

Young says pot activists fighting to keep the cause alive are out of
luck, but not forever.

"It's dead -- for the time being," he said. "This issue goes in cycles."

Young predicts that Ottawa won't be able to indefinitely ignore a
growing number of pot users.

"We're a drug-consuming culture and we've got to start regulating it."

Pot is the most popular illicit drug in the country, says the
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.

A major national survey released in 2004 found that about 15 per cent
of the adult population had used cannibis in the year before, up from
seven per cent in 1994. That number jumped to almost 29 per cent
among university students, and was at least 23 per cent for those
aged 13 to 18.

The centre warns of side-effects ranging from impaired concentration
to respiratory damage, depression, paranoia and the possible
aggravation of pre-existing psychiatric symptoms.

While in opposition, Toews assailed the Liberals for moving to
increase pot demand while at the same time cracking down on suppliers
with tougher trafficking penalties.

Critics stressed the fact that police still have no reliable roadside
test to snag stoned drivers. Also missing is a national drug strategy
to discourage use.

Still, pot advocates say marijuana on the whole is a lesser hazard
than alcohol.

"It's much less harmful to our society than other legal activities
and substances," says Kirk Tousaw, general counsel to the B.C. Marijuana Party.

"Unfortunately, (Prime Minister Stephen) Harper ran on a
get-tough-on-crime, lock-'em-up platform that isn't going to do
anyone in Canada any good -- except for perhaps those in the
prison-building industry."

Tousaw, a criminal defence lawyer, says marijuana prohibition flies
in the face of bedrock conservative principles.

"It's the antithesis of individual liberty. It is an economic program
that's just dumping good money after bad: the courts, the jails, the
police time."

Moreover, pot laws are inconsistently applied across Canada, Tousaw says.

"I'm a white, middle-class father of two. If I'm using marijuana in
my own home, I run virtually no risk of being arrested."

The homeless who smoke up in parks, for example, are much more likely
to be charged, he says.

"It's just another way that the law discriminates against both
visible minorities and those with lower socio-economic standing."

Toews barely stopped Tuesday when asked about such inconsistencies.

"We have a law on the books, don't we?" he said before brushing past reporters.