DON'T EASE MARIJUANA LAWS, SAYS POLICE GROUP

Official Argues Move 'Sends Wrong Message To Children'

Government plans to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana
will send the wrong message to children, the Canadian Police Association says.

"We're against it," Mike Niebudek, a vice-president of the Canadian Police
Association, said Saturday.

"We feel that the changes that were brought in 1997 when we created the new
drug act were sufficient. . . . Legislatively, we're satisfied with what's
in the law right now."

On Saturday, the Globe and Mail reported that the federal government is
expected Thursday to unveil legislation aimed at decriminalizing possession
of less than 15 grams of pot.

The proposals, the Globe said, will include a strategy to discourage drug use.

According to the report, people found with less than 15 grams would be
ticketed and fined under the federal Contraventions Act.

The current Controlled Drugs and Substances Act calls for a charge of
common possession for anyone found with 30 grams or less.

The police association says lowering the amount will increase the use of
marijuana, creating other problems for police.

"If you look at the numbers, I believe for 1999 . . . 21,000 charges in
Canada were laid for possession of marijuana," Mr. Niebudek said.

"That's less than one charge per year per three police officers in Canada.
So it's not a huge thing. . . . There's no police officer that wakes up one
morning and says, 'Today I'm going to concentrate on catching people using
marijuana' - it just doesn't happen."

While the association is pleased that Prime Minister Jean Chretien has
announced that Canada will have a strategy to discourage young people from
using drugs, it is disappointed about moving forward with decriminalization
before the strategy is in place and police are given the tools they need to
do a new job.

"We need the ability to use the criminal consequence for small amounts of
marijuana in specific cases (like) where marijuana is used by someone
driving a vehicle or if our measures are responding to a family situation
and they see the father smoking marijuana with his children," Mr. Niebudek
said.

But one Halifax defence lawyer says relaxing the possession amounts will
ease some of the burden on the criminal justice system.

"I think that it would likely reduce the amount of resources that would be
required by investigators, which would probably mean fewer charges before
the court," says Stan MacDonald, vice-president of the Nova Scotia Criminal
Lawyers Association.

"I think it's probably a recognition that simple possession of marijuana
with the result being that someone ends up with a criminal record is
probably beyond what's necessary."

It's relatively well-known, Mr. MacDonald said, that "many, many people
possess marijuana."

"And generally, I think people believe that it shouldn't be a crime to do
so as long as it's for personal use."

The federal Crown is continuing to seek adjournments on simple pot
possession charges in Nova Scotia until an appeal of a Dartmouth provincial
court judge's ruling questioning Canada's marijuana laws is decided.

"The Crowns very much deal with the law as it is and they don't deal with
what might be the law - what changes might come in," said Glenn
Chamberlain, a federal Justice Department spokesman.

"They have to deal with the (Criminal) Code or the acts as they're written
now and as they apply now."

In March, Judge Flora Buchan stayed a possession charge against Paula
Clarke, 29, of Minesville, Halifax County.

Judge Buchan followed the lead of judges in Ontario and Prince Edward
Island, who granted similar stays, arguing the country's marijuana laws are
unclear.

In her decision, Judge Buchan questioned whether it is an abuse of the
court process to permit the federal Crown to prosecute drug matters that
have been stayed in three provinces.

About 400 people faced drug possession charges in Nova Scotia last year.

A date for the appeal has yet to be set.

Since the Clarke decision, Judge Buchan has stayed at least five similar
cases - including one the Crown was going to send to an adult diversion
program.