LIBERALS SEND WRONG MESSAGE ON MARIJUANA

MP's Corner

Jasper Booster--Member of Parliament for Yellowhead, Rob Merrifield is
concerned with the federal Liberals decision to soften Canada's marijuana
possession laws.

Bill C-38 will decriminalize possession of "small" amounts of marijuana.
The ticket threshold would be 15 grams, and police officers would have the
option of pursuing a summary conviction or a small criminal charge between
15 and 30 grams. No criminal records would be attached to those who are
only given fines.

Here are Merrifield's thoughts one the issue:

"The Canadian Alliance supports legislation that would remove small
possessions of marijuana from the courts by giving police officers the
authority to issue fines. Decriminalization of very small amounts must be
matched with more resources for police to go after drug dealers and
growers, and with more education to show Canadians the dangers of drug use.
And the courts must be given authority to punish lawbreakers.

Drug users will be able to avoid criminal records for possession of up to
30 grams of marijuana. That's the equivalent of 25-40 marijuana cigarettes.
The Liberals are sending a soft message to drug users in Canada. The
Canadian Alliance believes we need a get tough on drug use policy.

The courts have been unable to cope with the number of small possession
cases, often simply throwing them out for a lack of resources. That is not
a good use of the courts' time or taxpayers' money.

Any plan to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana possession must also
include a firm crackdown on drug use. This is the Liberals' major failing
on this file.

I have serious concerns about the message softer penalties for drug
possession sends Canadians, particularly Canadian youth who will be given
discounted fines.

It is not acceptable that youth get a discount on the price they pay for
breaking the law. This is precisely the group that we should be shielding
form drug use.

This bill is a continuation of a long trend of Liberal justice, as we have
seen with the watered down Youth Criminal Justice Act. The federal Liberals
have not considered the consequences of being soft on drug use. Even their
own health minister has admitted that we will see a spike in marijuana use
in Canada.

Without mechanisms to ensure that the streets are safe from people driving
under the influence of drugs and without effective roadside assessment
capabilities, we will see more drug-impaired drivers getting behind the
wheel with no concrete way to detect them."