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