POT PENALTIES OUT OF WHACK, MPS SAY IN RECOMMENDING FINES FOR SMALL AMOUNTS

OTTAWA (CP) - Current penalties for pot possession are too stiff, a
parliamentary committee said Thursday, in recommending fines rather than
criminal convictions for possessing small amounts. "Smoking any amount of
marijuana is unhealthy, but the consequences of conviction for a small
amount of marijuana for personal use are disproportionate to the potential
harm," said Liberal MP Paddy Torsney, chair of the committee.

Possession of up to 30 grams of marijuana should be treated as a regulatory
offence and not land someone a criminal record, the special parliamentary
committee on the non-medicinal use of drugs recommended.

Critics, both in Canada and the United States, were quick to jump on the
recommendations.

But the report got a favourable response from Justice Minister Martin
Cauchon, who has promised to ease marijuana possession laws early in the new
year.

Cauchon thanked the committee Thursday for its "very interesting, very
important" recommendations.

"Let me be clear here," he added. "What we're talking about is
decriminalization. We're not talking about to legalize."

Canadian police and the U.S. drug control czar said easing the penalties is
a step in the wrong direction.

"The message this sends to our youth is that we are trivializing the use of
marijuana," said Mike Niebudek, vice-president of the Canadian Police
Association.

And John Walters, director of the U.S. office of drug control policy, held a
news conference in Buffalo where he warned that softer drug policies in
Canada could create border security problems and contribute to an increased
flow of Canadian-grown pot to the U.S. market.

Walters warned of lax attitudes "left over from the Cheech and Chong years
of the '60s," and cautioned against "reefer-madness madness."

The Commons committee was clear, however, that pot should not be legalized.
And it excluded hashish and other cannabis-based products from the 30-gram
leniency provision.

But for small amounts of pot - including plants cultivated at home - "fines
would be paid without a court appearance and enforcement would not result in
a criminal conviction," said Torsney.

The committee report, which was not unanimously endorsed, also maintains
that trafficking in any amount of marijuana remain a crime, a point Cauchon
stressed in an attempt to allay U.S. concerns.

"What we would like to do is be even tougher on those involved in organized
crime and smuggling drugs and trafficking," he said. "We want to make sure
we focus our resources where it really counts for society."

The idea of permitting smokers to grow their own would reduce the demand for
dangerous grow operations, said Torsney.

"We would prefer that you have your (own) one plant if you're a Saturday
night smoker."

The report also calls for:

- - Government prevention and education programs, especially for young people.

- - A renewed national drug strategy and a federal drug commissioner to
oversee it and report annually to Parliament.

- - A stronger emphasis on stopping drug-impaired drivers.

- - $3 million in federal funding each year for the Canadian Centre on
Substance Abuse.

The committee did not propose an amnesty for people with records for
previous possession convictions. An estimated 600,000 Canadians have
criminal records for possession of cannabis products. The possession law
dates from the 1920s.

Committee member Kevin Sorenson said the 30-gram limit - which translates
into an ounce in street parlance and could be used to roll about 50 joints -
is too high and that hefty fines should be levelled at anyone possessing up
to five grams.

Hydroponically grown marijuana sells for up to $15 a gram.

New Democrat Libby Davies, another committee member, says the
Liberal-dominated committee didn't go nearly far nearly.

"The NDP sees decriminalization as only a partial solution," she said.

"These recommendations need a great deal of work if we are serious about
removing the intrusive power of police when it comes to personal use of
cannabis."

And marijuana advocate Marc-Boris St. Maurice called the report
short-sighted.

"It's a lot of political rhetoric and people getting mileage out of
marijuana without any real intention to do anything," said the Marijuana
Party member.

"It's just blowing smoke."