Pubdate: Sat, 05 Mar 2005
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2005 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact:  http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author: Ian Bailey, CanWest News Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Rochfort+Bridge (Rochfort Bridge)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

ALCOCK AT ODDS WITH PARTY OVER POT

OTTAWA -- A senior federal Liberal cabinet minister broke ranks yesterday 
with the government's opposition to legalizing marijuana as debate on 
issues around pot raged at the party's policy convention in light of the 
deaths of four Alberta Mounties during a grow-op raid.

Treasury Board President Reg Alcock said he will vote to legalize pot if a 
resolution on the issue comes up at the policy meeting this weekend, noting 
he has voted in favour of the idea at party policy conventions going back 
to 1978.

"If we actually wanted to break the back of organized crime, we would be 
better off to control it," said Alcock. "When you have these things 
underground, what you end up fuelling is organized crime."

He said "normal policing" has failed to stamp out pot, but that 
legalization would provide "a better chance of controlling it than we do 
right now."

Alcock's views stood in stark contrast to those of Public Safety Minister 
Anne McLellan, who told reporters "we should not be sending mixed signals 
around how we as a government view this."

The former health minister acknowledged she has been accused of being a 
"puritanical zealot" over her opposition to legalizing pot. "This is a 
dangerous substance. We know it is a more potent carcinogen than smoke 
tobacco. That's what the research tells us. That's irrefutable. That's 
science," she said.

Among the resolutions at the meeting is a proposal to have the Liberal 
party encourage the government to legalize marijuana for reasons that 
include making the traffic in pot safer and allowing the government to 
"make $3 billion in tax revenue a year."

The shooting deaths of four Mounties during the ill-fated raid near 
Mayerthorpe, in northwestern Alberta, spilled over into the corridors of 
the conference centre and hotel where federal Liberals are holding a 
four-day party convention, forcing ministers to defend the government's 
policies on illegal drugs.

Much of the discussion revolved around the government's proposed marijuana 
decriminalization bill, which would soften penalties for possession of 
small amounts of pot, but toughen penalties for growers.

Growers could face sentences of 18 months to 14 years in jail, depending on 
the number of plants they were caught with.

Bill C-38 has passed first reading in the House and is now subject to 
review by a parliamentary committee. McLellan noted that the bill includes 
provisions to force judges to take a harder line on illegal grow ops, 
including an explanation in written reasons if there is no jail time for an 
offence.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom