CANADA MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION LEGISLATION DELAYED

Fears of United States, Discord in Government Cited

This was the week the government of Canadian Prime Minister Jean
Chretien was going to introduce legislation that would decriminalize
the possession of small amounts of cannabis. It didn't happen. While
the prepared text for a speech Chretien gave Tuesday night included
the announcement of the decrim bill, those words vanished when
Chretien actually gave the speech, and on Wednesday Justice Minister
Martin Cauchon announced that no bill would be introduced for at least
two more weeks.

The postponement came amid skirmishes within the ruling Liberal Party
over the plan and as Cauchon traveled to Washington, DC, for a meeting
with US Attorney General John Ashcroft to inform him of Canada's
decrim strategy. US anti-drug officials have loudly and repeatedly
expressed concern over the measure, even going so far as to threaten
dire consequences for cross-border traffic if it passes.

But while drug czar John Walters, drug-fighting Rep. Mark Souder
(R-IN) and others have made loud noises about Canadian plans, Ashcroft
was more diplomatic. "US Attorney General John Ashcroft today met with
Canadian Minister of Justice Martin Cauchon as part of their ongoing
dialogue on cross-border crime issues," said Justice's only statement
on the meeting. "Our countries enjoy a close working relationship, and
the Attorney General and the Minister often take opportunities to
discuss these important issues, most recently during the Paris meeting
of the G8 Justice Ministers. Attorney General Ashcroft and Minister
Cauchon today discussed the full range of US-Canadian issues,
including counterterrorism, counternarcotics, extradition and mutual
legal assistance."

Still, if the official statement was diplomatic, Ashcroft voiced
serious concerns about the decrim move, according to sources close to
the meeting cited by the Toronto Star. Ashcroft reportedly told
Cauchon that while he "absolutely" agreed that Canada "had the right
to make its own laws," he disagreed with lightening penalties for
possession and warned of a flood of high-grade Canadian marijuana
entering the US. "There's no denying that there is concern on the
American side," the Star's source said. "What matters now is what we
do on the penalty side against illegal marijuana growing operations to
shut them down."

Sensitive to accusations of knuckling under to the Americans, Cauchon
insisted he did not go to Washington to "consult" with Ashcroft, but
to inform him. "I just want to be clear," Cauchon said, "as Justice
Minister I will do what I think is good for the Canadian population."
That is brave talk, but if reports that the decrim bill will also
increase penalties for cultivation and trafficking of marijuana are
any indication, Cauchon's estimation of what "is good for the Canadian
population" may well include deference to US concerns about relaxing
the marijuana laws.

But it isn't only the Americans that the Liberal government has to
worry about. Health Minister Anne McLellan has apparently gone off the
reservation on the marijuana issue. McLellan, who torpedoed the
medical marijuana distribution system set up by her predecessor Allan
Rock, has joined the Americans in worrying aloud about the effect
decriminalization would have on pot exports to the US. "I have made it
very plain that until we are able to effectively deal with illegal
'grow ops' in this country, we have a major, major problem," McLellan
told reporters this week.

She also warned that decriminalization could cause a possible
short-term increase in marijuana use and that Canada must be prepared
to deal with that spike. "It can lead to addiction, it can lead to all
sorts of situations within local communities, and you need to be ready
with information, with education and with treatment. And you have to
be very clear about the message -- this is not about legalization,"
she said.

And that's why some Canadian marijuana activists are staying on the
sidelines. "We do not support decriminalization," said Marc-Boris St.
Maurice, head of the Canadian Marijuana Party (http://www.marijuanaparty.org).
"It is virtually meaningless. It is not a step forward, but a step
sideways," he told DRCNet. "Our biggest concern is that under decrim,
more users will be targeted. Now, police turn a blind eye because
arresting someone for cannabis is not worth the hassle, but the minute
the government realizes there is money to be made, they will start
ticketing pot smokers."

Also, said St. Maurice, the decrim half-measure could well leave the
hundred thousand-plus Canadians involved in the marijuana business at
even greater risk. "The reported plans to increase penalties for
growers and traffickers really piss me off," St. Maurice said. "I work
full-time for the Montreal Compassion Club, so I guess that makes me a
trafficker. Also, if the government increases penalties for growing
and trafficking, it will push out the peaceful mom-and-pop operators
and make it all the easier for the hard-core criminals to dominate the
business. That would be an unintended consequence and would be a
result of the government not thinking through what it wants to do," he
said.

Instead, said St. Maurice, Canada should adopt last fall's senate
committee report calling for legalization and regulation of marijuana
use and the pot trade. "The Nolin report is the best blueprint we
have," he said.

While Eugene Oscapella of the Canadian Foundation on Drug Policy
(http://www.cfdp.ca) shares St. Maurice's problems with partial
measures, he told DRCNet that the decrim bill, which has yet to be
seen, may address the issue of small-scale growing and sales. "They
will probably increase penalties for large-scale production and
trafficking," he said. "Right now the maximum penalty is seven years.
They may increase that, but also perhaps reduce the penalty for the
production of small quantities."

As for the delay in the decrim bill, "I am sure it is purely a
coincidence that the introduction of the bill was delayed while the
Justice Minister went to Washington," Oscapella said. He professed
himself somewhat confused as to why the government tarried. "There is
such strong support for decriminalization of simple possession," he
said. "I don't understand why the government is so tremulous." Still,
he said, he expects a bill will be tabled and passed, and he asked
American readers to continue to participate in the debate. "We are
seeing lots of letters to the editor on this topic from Americans, and
that is important," Oscapella said. "We appreciate the support. Please
keep it up."

Visit http://www.drcnet.org/wol/286.html#claudenolin to read DRCNet's
interview with Senator Nolin, chairman of the Canadian Senate
committee that called for full legalization of marijuana.