DECRIMINALIZE POT, SAYS LOCAL MP

West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast Canadian Alliance MP John Reynolds says his
constituency agrees with new legislation to decriminalize marijuana.

"It's something that I think needs to be done. We polled our constituents,
and 64 per cent agreed that it was something that was in order," Reynolds
said Wednesday.

Added Reynolds from his Ottawa office: "It will allow the system to work
better. Police will be able to just issue a ticket."

Under the proposed legislation, the Liberal government is considering
removing marijuana from the Criminal Code and making it an offence
punishable by a fine instead of a criminal record.

It is believed that the changes could come early in the new year. Reynolds
said he is in favour of the decriminalization of marijuana for personal
use, and also believes the amount should be five grams or less.

West Vancouver Police Department Sgt. Bob Fontaine said that even if
legislation is changed, his police precinct is opposed to the use,
production and sale of any illegal drug.

"We currently have five officers teaching DARE in Grade 5 though 8. DARE is
designed to make youth aware of the dangers of the use of alcohol,
cigarettes and illegal drugs and works with them to build up their
self-esteem to give them confidence to say no to offers of such substances."

Still, Sgt. Fontaine says if there is a move to decriminalize pot, he
doesn't expect any major changes to occur with street-level enforcement of
small amounts of the drug.

"The current practice is to seize small amounts of marijuana and to destroy
them with no charges to the offender," he said. Fontaine explained that if
a person is in possession of less than 30 grams there is no criminal
record, although the offender must appear in federal court and be sentenced
for the offence as a summary conviction and usually receives an absolute
discharge and perhaps even a small fine.

"If the intention is to give officers the power to ticket for possession of
small amounts of marijuana, the amount of no-charge seizures would go down
dramatically and officers would proceed by way of a ticket," the West
Vancouver police officer added. Even if legislation to decriminalize pot
goes ahead in the new year, Fontaine believes police officers must remain
vigilant in their pursuit of big-time growers and traffickers.

"If the law is changed we would have to enforce the law without prejudice,"
he said. "We should continue to pursue those who produce and traffic
marijuana and other illegal substances."