MARTIN TO PRESS AHEAD WITH NEW POT LAWS

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Paul Martin says he'll press ahead with
legislation, first proposed under Jean Chretien, to eliminate criminal
penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana

But he hinted Thursday he'd like to see a new definition of what
constitutes a "small amount" and invited a parliamentary committee to
consider lowering the limit from the original proposal of 15 grams

Martin told reporters he sees a health risk in pot use and observed that
"any doctor will tell you it's far from the best thing for you." On the
central point of the law, however, he insisted that it achieves "absolutely
nothing to give a criminal record to young people caught with minimal
amounts." The bill brought in under Chretien, which died on the House of
Commons order paper last month, will be reintroduced when MPs return to
work in the new year, Martin said. He then offered suggestions for
finetuning it before it becomes law

"I think that one's got to take a look at the fines. I think that you have
to take a look the quantities, and I think that there has to be a larger
effort against the grow-ops and against those who distribute." In a
year-end interview Thursday with CPAC, the parliamentary public affairs
channel, Martin confided he'd never smoked pot but said his wife Sheila
once made some brownies "and I must say they had a strange taste." The
Supreme Court of Canada is set to rule next week on whether the current
marijuana law violates the Charter of Rights by mandating criminal
penalties, including potential jail time, for simple possession.