POT LAWS A NIGHTMARE: MP

The proposed decriminalization of marijuana is another Liberal government
boondoggle in the making, says Canadian Alliance MP Randy White.

And after the blow-up over the billion-dollar gun registry, he doesn't think
Liberal MPs will be in any rush to change the country's marijuana laws.

The Abbotsford MP also believes that provinces like B.C., Alberta, Ontario
and Saskatchewan, which oppose decriminalization, could refuse to buy into
federal proposal since health and non-criminal fines are under provincial
jurisdiction.

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon told reporters this week that he intends to
introduce marijuana decriminalization legislation within the first four
months of the new year.

His decision is based on a report by a House of Commons committee
recommending those caught with less than 30 grams of pot be fined rather
than receive a criminal record.

But Mr. White, who co-chaired the committee, says while he favors
decriminalization, he disagrees with the amount of marijuana set by the
Liberal-dominated committee and with the lack of escalating fines for repeat
offenders.

Five grams, or about three marijuana joints, he says, "I don't have a
problem with."

But the recommended 30 grams, about 18 to 30 joints, he says, "you don't
even carry that many cigarettes, if you smoke." A young person under the
proposal could legally carry that many joints to school.

Mr. White says the committee recommendations also don't include any
provision for roadside testing of drivers for marijuana impairment, but does
allow growing a certain amount of marijuana plants for personal use.

"Growing is no different than producing an Ecstasy tablet," he says, and
predicts the provision will cause a fiasco in Canada's already-burdened
courts as lawyers argue over which part of the plant should be weighed.

"Should they leave the stems in or out?" he says. "It's just going to be a
nightmare."

He says the main problem with Canada's current marijuana laws is that the
courts won't impose tough sentences for possession. "They're not doing it
today, that's the problem," he says.

Safe injection sites, also recommended by the committee, will simply be
"magnets" for heroin addicts, says Mr. White, who travelled to Europe last
summer to see firsthand some of the sites in operation.

"I've been there, I've seen them and within two or three city blocks of
those centres, it's nothing but human carnage," he says. "I wish the federal
liberals would respect Canadians for what they are, not for what they want
them to be. They want everybody to buy into their libertarian point of
view."