MARIJUANA LEGISLATION ONE OF PARLIAMENT'S TOP ISSUES

Government's Bill To Decriminalize Marijuana Has Its Share Of Naysayers

For some MPs, it's a "well-balanced" piece of legislation that goes after
the true criminals and eases off the young people who are caught with an
experimental joint.

But for others, the Cannabis Reform Bill (C-38) is a huge "contradiction"
that sends the wrong message to users of cannabis and further threatens our
already-tenuous relationship with the U.S. There is also no guarantee,
critics say, that judges will apply the bill's penalties if they become
law, which could encourage traffickers and large-scale growers to increase
their illegal activities. Moreover, some critics declare that the bill
serves only to boost the profile of the Liberal party among certain pockets
of voters.

These opinions have already made for fiery debate in the House of Commons.
And based on what MPs and senators are currently saying about the
contentious bill, further debate on the so-called "soft pot" legislation is
guaranteed to re-ignite when Parliament reconvenes.

Introduced last May, the bill proposes controversial amendments to the
Contraventions Act and the Controlled Substances Act. The amendments --
which made front-page headlines across the country and garnered
international attention -- seek to decriminalize possession of small
amounts of marijuana and toughen the penalties for large-scale growers.

At issue are the bill's proposed fines ($100 for youths and $150 for
adults) for those caught with up to 15 grams of pot. Those fines go up if
accompanied by "aggravating factors" such as driving ($250 for youths and
$400 for adults).

If someone is caught with 15 to 30 grams of pot, the bill proposes to give
police officers a choice based on the offence. This means issuing a ticket
- -- with a fine of $300 for an adult and $200 for youths -- or a summons for
a summary conviction that consists of a penalty of up to six months
imprisonment and/or up to a $1,000 fine.

Also under the bill, illegal growers face a maximum prison term of 14 years
(double the current term) for anyone found with more than 50 marijuana
plants. The bill operates on this premise: the larger the grow operation,
the greater the penalty.

"Not only will we have greater enforcement, we are expecting greater
penalties to come into the court system to deal with the marijuana grow ops
in the country and to shut them down," declared Justice Minister Martin
Cauchon (Outremont, Que.) at the time of the bill's introduction.

But Alliance MP Randy White (Langley-Abbotsford, B.C.), the Opposition's
chief critic for the Solicitor General, argues the legislation's maximum
penalties will not influence court proceedings since judges "rarely" give
out the most severe sentence.

As a result, maximum penalties "don't really mean anything," he says. "And
right now, the minimum [in the bill] is still zero. The judges will say:
'If I can give a fine to someone with 29 grams, I'm not going to give a
jail sentence to someone with 35 grams.' A grower or trafficker will
continue to get the minimum, judges will start tossing these [cases] out,
and we'll be right back where we started."

Mr. White says judges may hear out the cases of bigger growers and
traffickers, but they won't suddenly apply heavier penalties if Bill C-38
is enacted. Consequently, prospective growers won't be deterred from
setting up large-scale operations, he says, adding that people caught with
grow operations worth $400,000 are typically fined $2,000.

"We're really talking about small amounts here. And that won't change [if
this bill goes through]."

Further, Mr. White calls the adult-youth discrepancy in fines for
possessing small amounts of pot "naove and stupid."

"Anyone who can afford to buy up to 30 grams of marijuana can surely afford
a $150 fine," he says.

But according to Mr. Cauchon "a $100 fine for a kid" is a significant amount.

This apparent "soft-on-youth" approach is not exclusive to Prime Minister
Jean Chritien's Cabinet. Liberal MP John Bryden
(Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Aldershot, Ont.) says he was sold on the bill
when he found out that it won't "nail youngsters." The proposed fines for
youth, he says, mean young people won't receive a life-long criminal record
that could otherwise "affect their future employment or, even more
dramatically, affect their ability to cross the border into the U.S."

Police forces and courts, he adds, should be focusing their resources on
the big-time traffickers and growers, not wasting their time on young
people who are experimenting with small amounts of pot.

"The last thing you want is some smart, talented 20-year-old getting thrown
in jail," says Mr. Bryden. "I don't condone the use of drugs .. but young
people are young people and they haven't changed since I was young. You
should be putting your resources into those people who are growing this
stuff in vast quantities because these people are obviously out to make a
profit on an illegal drug. That is a criminal offence in my view. But a
young person who experiments with small amounts does not have criminal intent."

Criminal intent or not, this is the wrong message, says Grant Obst,
president of the Canadian Police Association. In a letter to Prime Minister
Jean Chritien sent last May, Mr. Obst observed that each time the
government "speaks publicly about [its] intention to decriminalize
marijuana, many people are inferring ... possession would be legal or less
serious."

"Ultimately, this sends the message that cannabis use is harmless," wrote
Mr. Obst, who called for a "balanced [drug strategy] that reduces the
adverse effects associated with drug use by limiting both the supply of and
demand for illicit drugs." To achieve this, a coordinated and "sufficiently
resourced approach to prevention, education and awareness" is needed.

Tory Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, who is the chair of the Senate Special
Committee on Illegal Drugs, says the government had the opportunity to take
the lead on such a coordinated approach but has so far dropped the ball.

"My blunt analysis is [the government] has introduced this bill for pure
political gain," says Sen. Nolin, whose Senate committee released a
600-plus page report last September full of recommendations on dealing with
marijuana legislation. The report -- which called for legalization of pot
in a state-controlled environment much like wine or beer -- was a product
of extensive consultation with experts and citizens from across Canada.

Specifically, Sen. Nolin suggests the Liberals did not pay attention to his
committee's recommendation to approach front-line people, such as police,
public health officers and those involved in the treatment of substance
abusers. Instead, he says the government reacted in a knee-jerk fashion
after it noticed decriminalization drew support among some Canadians.

"So they went for it before they even knew what the word
'decriminalization' meant," Sen. Nolin says. "They should have first
invited their provincial colleagues and health colleagues, and also invite
to the table those who are confronted on a daily basis the use and abuse of
psychoactive substances. I'm referring mainly to the kids who are using
those substances. Of course, the issue of prevention and education should
have been discussed at length [before any bill is proposed]."

Whether it's more consultation or more resources for drug education and
other awareness-raising efforts, such recommendations come out all the
time, says Mr. Bryden. And he's tired of hearing it.

"It has become the standard: Go talk to educators and persuade, persuade,
persuade. But the reality is that this has been around for a very long
time. And I have no particular interest in hoeing the same field.

Bill C-38 came with a five-year, $245-million commitment to "reduce both
the demand for, and supply of, drugs," according to a government press
release outlining the renewal of Canada's Drug Strategy. The announcement
was apparently a response to "Parliamentary committees .. in partnership
with provinces, territories, communities and stakeholders."

Yet it is questionable, says Alliance MP Vic Toews, the Opposition's senior
justice critic, whether the provinces were prepared for this announcement.
While there is some work being done to develop roadside screening devices
capable of determining whether a driver is stoned, no such technology is
currently available, says Mr. Toews.

"People will begin to favour marijuana (over alcohol) because it's not as
detectable as alcohol," he warns.

Mr. Toews (Provencher, Man.), along with Mr. White, also contends that the
bill will undoubtedly hurt an already-frosty relationship with the U.S.
Drawing from a well-used Alliance argument, they say Bill C-38 could
further hamper Canadian exports bound to the U.S. because of increased
American security at the border. It also runs directly against Washington's
long-standing "war on drugs," they say.

But Sen. Nolin says any bilateral repercussions from Bill C-38 can be
avoided. It's not a case of American states being against decriminalization
of small amounts of pot since there are at least a dozen states --
including California, Alaska and Maine -- that have favoured
decriminalization for more than a decade.

"There's a way to talk to them and explain why we're doing things," says
Sen. Nolin, who advocates a more integrated Canada-U.S. drug strategy. "On
this subject, we're avoiding it, and forgetting to explain [ourselves]."

Sen. Nolin adds that, according to speculation on the Hill, the bill won't
pass in its current form. Certainly, the Senate will give it "a good, hard
look," he says.