WE'RE GOING TO POT!

Decriminalization Next Year, Says Justice Minister

The federal government may introduce legislation early in the new year to
decriminalize the use of marijuana, says Justice Minister Martin Cauchon.

"If we're talking about that question of decriminalizing marijuana, we may
move ahead quickly as a government," he said yesterday outside the House of
Commons.

"I don't like to give you a date or a time frame, but let's say the
beginning of next year, the four first months of next year."

But Sgt. Peter Ratcliff, president of the Edmonton Police Association, said
the federal government has essentially already decriminalized simple
possession of modest amounts - no more than 30 grams - of pot. Simple
possession offenders are not fingerprinted or photographed, he said.

"It's a lot of marijuana," he said. "It's a sandwich baggie full of
marijuana. If you plead guilty to the charge, you might get a fine, and a
small one, likely about $150 or less than that, depending on the amount.

"It no longer has the stigma to it, it no longer has the penalty to it."

He said cops don't target people with simple possession of marijuana.
"We've got bigger fish to fry."

Cauchon said the long-awaited bill would depend partly on the views of a
special Commons committee which studied the use of non-medical drugs.

The committee released the first of two reports yesterday, recommending
that heroin addicts in major cities should have safe injection sites and
needle-exchange programs.

It also said two prisons should be converted into treatment centres for
inmates.

A second report is due Thursday. That report is expected to recommend that
growing pot for personal use should not be a crime.

Sources familiar with the work of the committee said the move to
decriminalize marijuana would still make the possession of pot illegal, but
the punishment would be a fine rather than a criminal record.

"If you're going to decriminalize marijuana, where is a person supposed to
get it?" said one well-placed sourcewho confirmed that the committee is in
favour of letting Canadians grow their own pot.

A Senate committee report issued in September went even further, saying
marijuana should be legalized for use by anybody over the age of 16.

The committee found that moderate use of the drug poses no serious
long-term dangers for adults and could be sold under controlled
circumstances like liquor or in drugstores.