Pubdate: Fri, 19 Dec 2003
Source: Penticton Herald (CN BC)
Copyright: 2003 The Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.pentictonherald.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/664

MARTIN TO PRESS AHEAD WITH NEW POT LAWS

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Paul Martin says he'll press ahead with 
legislation, first proposed under Jean Chretien, to eliminate criminal 
penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana

But he hinted Thursday he'd like to see a new definition of what 
constitutes a "small amount" and invited a parliamentary committee to 
consider lowering the limit from the original proposal of 15 grams

Martin told reporters he sees a health risk in pot use and observed that 
"any doctor will tell you it's far from the best thing for you." On the 
central point of the law, however, he insisted that it achieves "absolutely 
nothing to give a criminal record to young people caught with minimal 
amounts." The bill brought in under Chretien, which died on the House of 
Commons order paper last month, will be reintroduced when MPs return to 
work in the new year, Martin said. He then offered suggestions for 
finetuning it before it becomes law

"I think that one's got to take a look at the fines. I think that you have 
to take a look the quantities, and I think that there has to be a larger 
effort against the grow-ops and against those who distribute." In a 
year-end interview Thursday with CPAC, the parliamentary public affairs 
channel, Martin confided he'd never smoked pot but said his wife Sheila 
once made some brownies "and I must say they had a strange taste." The 
Supreme Court of Canada is set to rule next week on whether the current 
marijuana law violates the Charter of Rights by mandating criminal 
penalties, including potential jail time, for simple possession.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman