POT DECRIMINALIZATION BILL FINDS SOME NORTHERN SUPPORT

Local News - Legislation introduced by the Liberal government to
decriminalize possession of marijuana does not go far enough for some.

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon hopes to push the bill, introduced Tuesday,
through parliament by year's end which would reduce the offence for
possession of 15 grams of marijuana or less to a minor offence, as opposed
to a criminal one.

That would mean fines ranging from $150 to $400 for adults and $100 to $250
for youths.

Robert Laperriere, who organized a march in Hearst, does not feel the
proposed bill goes far enough.

"You get caught with any number of grams and you'll still have a fine," he
said. "If you can't pay the fine they'll accumulate because now the police
know you have marijuana all the time and you'll accumulate heavy fines and
if you can't pay them you're back to square one -- you go to jail."

While Laperriere does not feel the proposed bill goes to the extent it
should, it is better than nothing at all he said.

Ed Walsh, who uses the weed for medicinal purposes, did not hide his use of
marijuana and subsequent arrest for it when he ran in the provincial
election four years ago and he's not hiding it now.

In fact, although he did not succeed in establishing the Northern Ontario
Separatist Party as an independent, he feels his conviction for possession,
albeit for a small amount, actually garnered him some votes.

"I figure it got me a few votes," he said.

Walsh is all for Cauchon's proposed bill being pushed through Parliament.

"The police have better things to do than to go out and chase down people
who are smoking a little bit of pot," he said.

Timmins Police Chief Denis Lavoie was unavailable for comment at press time
and, while Deputy Chief Richard Laperriere said he has his views with
regard to certain components of the legislation, he wants to investigate
the matter before making comment.

Ontario Provincial Police detective superintendent Jim Hutchinson,
designated spokesman on the matter, was unavailable for comment.