Pubdate: Fri, 30 May 2003
Source: Halifax Herald (CN NS)
Copyright: 2003 The Halifax Herald Limited
Contact:  http://www.herald.ns.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/180
Author: Chantal Hebert
Note: Chantal Hebert is a national affairs columnist with the Toronto Star.

MIXED MESSAGES ON DRUG STRATEGY

For anyone looking for symptoms of the political bi-polar which has seized 
the national capitol in the dying days of the Cretien era, a good place to 
start is the confused federal Drug strategy unveiled this week in Parliament.

Rarely have so many conflicting messages found there way into a single 
government initiative.

The result is not pretty.

The strategy purports to achieve zero-tolerance for marijuana with one hand 
while setting in motion the long overdue decriminalization of the substance 
with the other.

It aims to severely curtail the supply and demand of illicit drugs in 
general throughout Canada.

Yet it proposes to lure police forces into devoting more energy into 
exacting fines from small users and growers of marijuana,often at the 
expense of other drug-fighting activities on the criminal front.

It is meant to ensure the equal application of the marijuana statutes 
across the land by providing more sensible guidance to a justice system 
increasingly reluctant to saddle young people with criminal records for the 
mere possession pf a few joints. But it opens the door to arbitrary witch 
hunts and police harassments by turning marijuana users into potential cash 
cows on par with parking offenders.

Any driver caught with a small amount of marijuana would be fined $250 to 
$400 for possession while operating a vehicle, more than double the average 
fine. There would be no requirement on the system to demonstrate that 
possession of small amounts of marijuana in the undefined vicinity of a 
school as an aggravating circumstance leading to higher fines.

A key part of strategy involves encouraging young people to leave marijuana 
alone. But the bill sets much lower fines for underage offenders than for 
adults ($100 vs. $150 for possession of 15 grams or less), making it more 
attractive for drug dealers to use minors to peddle small amounts of 
marijuana to their peers.

It purports to free up police forces to deal with large scale producers of 
marijuana. But rather than allow users of the garden-type variety to bypass 
the organized-crime drug black market by providing for themselves, the new 
bill contemplates fines up to $5,000 for anyone caught growing a single 
plant of marijuana.

In Quebec, government inspectors are paid to determine compliance with the 
language laws by measuring the size of the lettering on commercial signs. 
Across Canada, anti-drug forces would have to do a head count of marijuana 
plants to determine whether they are dealing with a summary conviction 
offence (one to three plants), a so-called hybrid offence which could be 
treated either as a minor infraction or as a criminal code violation (four 
to 25 plants) or a full-fledged criminal offense warranting either a 
maximum 10-year jail sentence (26 to 50 plants) or a maximum 14-year 
sentence (50 plus).

One can only wonder what constituency the Federal government had in mind 
when it drafted this bill and its oddly matched companion strategy.

It cannot have been the advocates of looser marijuana laws. Although they 
will be glad to be clear of the risk of a criminal record, many will be 
troubled by the prospect of police declaring open season on tens of 
thousands  of small-time users of marijuana through the collection of 
fines. On the other hand, those who fear relaxation of the rules could lead 
to  amore permissive drug environment are unlikely to be swayed by the 
promise of more enforcement.

That leaves the White House, where plans for looser Canadian marijuana laws 
are wildly unpopular.

A trio of federal ministers insist the proposed regime would be less 
permissive than that of many other jurisdictions, notably in Europe. But 
they did not explain why Canada had opted for a stricter regime, except to 
maintain an appearance of symmetry with the United States. Presumably the 
message to Washington is that, with different means we are still fighting 
the same (phoney) war on marijuana.

Whether this bill ever becomes law is an open question.

The House of Commons is about adjourn for the summer. While Justice 
Minister Martin Cauchon says he hopes to have the bill passed before the 
end of the year, time is running out on Prime Minister Jean Cretin, whose 
successor will be chosen in the fall.  The bill fasces stiff opposition 
from the Liberal caucus as well as from across the Commons.

It also falls short of a recent Senate committee recommendation to legalize 
marijuana while undoubtedly going too far for other more conservative 
members of the Upper House.

Indeed, not since abortion debate has a government glass run so high a risk 
of being found both half full and half-empty by a majority of its critics 
inside and outside Parliament.

On marijuana as in the case of abortion, the ultimate outcome of this 
needlessly tortured process could be a legal vacuum. 
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart