DRIVE TO RELAX MARIJUANA LAW IS OVER -- OTTAWA

Liberal Plan To Decriminalize Possession Of Pot Pronounced Dead

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 brusque 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."