POLICE SAY HANDS TIED ON POT LAWS

Marijuana Laws Go Up In Smoke

Reefer madness has hit Mississauga and our cops are doing nothing about it.
Peel Regional Police have stopped laying charges for simple possession of
marijuana, the head of the force's drug squad revealed Friday.

"You could be toking away in the park, a high school student smoking a
joint in the classroom, or worse, you could smoke a joint while driving,
and there is nothing we can do about it," said Inspector David Van Loosen,
head of the Morality Bureau. "That's what the law of the land is telling us
right now -- that there is no offence for the possession of marijuana."

Van Loosen was referring to a May 16 decision by Mr. Justice Steven Rogin
of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, who upheld a lower court decision
to throw out a charge against a youth for possessing less than 30 grams of
marijuana because the law is no longer valid.

The decision is being appealed by the Federal Department of Justice.

Peel police are following in the footsteps of Toronto police, who earlier
stopped laying charges for possessing small portions of pot.

"The message from the court is disturbing," said Owen Sound Police Chief
Tom Kaye, also president of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.
"It leaves police with no legislative authority to fulfill their duties to
serve and protect their communities when it comes to possession of marijuana."

Van Loosen said his officers "are in no position" to lay charges until, at
the very least, the results of the appeal are in.

"All we're doing is taking names and filing occurrences," he said, noting
that marijuana use while driving does cause impairment.

Van Loosen added police could lay an impaired driving charge, but when it's
only based on physical evidence -- glazed eyes, reckless driving, etc., --
it becomes difficult to get a conviction.

These actions come in the midst of a controversial Federal government plan
to decriminalize marijuana.

Prime Minister Jean ChrEtien is urging the House of Commons to update and
standardize the country's pot laws to reduce penalties for small amounts of
marijuana, but increase them for growers, sellers and smugglers.

If passed, the new law would reduce penalties for possession of up to 15
grams of marijuana -- about 20 cigarettes -- to a fine of up to $180 for
youths and $290 for adults. However, maximum sentences for growers would
double to 14 years. Fines for possession by intoxicated drivers would also
increase. The government would also spend $150 million on an anti-drug
educational campaign.

But Liberal Paul Szabo, MP for Mississauga South, is speaking out against
his party's plan to decriminalize pot.

Szabo said he is "vehemently opposed" to the plan, saying it will lead to
more crime in Mississauga and make our streets more dangerous.

"Just the very suggestion of decriminalization sends a very bad message to
Canadians," Szabo said. "Marijuana, even in small possessions, is harmful
to health and well-being. It impairs driving and can damage your ability to
work safely around machinery."

Decriminalization will lead to an increase in marijuana growers' labs,
already a well-publicized problem in Mississauga, Szabo said.

"We will see more homes turned into marijuana labs, and we all know the
dangers of that."

Several pot houses in the city raided by police have been linked to
organized crime.

They've also been the cause of at least a dozen house fires in Peel the
past two years.

This year, police have seized 57 labs in the city.