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REEFER MADNESS BILL INTRODUCED IN OTTAWA

Not to be outdone by the absurdity of the Ontario court's decision that marijuana should be available for medical reasons, the very liberal Liberal Minister of Justice, Martin Cauchon, jumped on this bandwagon in May by introducing a bill to decriminalize marijuana. Under his plan, no charges for possession will be laid for those carrying 15 grams of marijuana or less. (This was initially set at 30 grams, but was subsequently reduced to 15 grams which still amounts to 15 to 20 joints per person). For those caught with over the permitted 15 grams, they will be given a fine akin to a parking ticket, rather than being punished with a criminal record as is currently done - although currently the first offence leads only to a warning. The bill also includes increased penalties for marijuana growing operations which are to be raised from 7 years to 14 years.

Amazingly this bill was introduced simultaneously with the Health Department's announcement that it will provide $245 M additional funding for drug law enforcement, education and treatment. This is in addition to the $300 M on such programs already provided each year. The new programs will include a campaign to stress that marijuana use is a health hazard! The Liberal government appears to have a case of schizophrenia on the marijuana issue.

It is obviously contradictory that the federal Health Department, responsible for the nation's health, is saying the opposite of the Justice Department which has a grand plan to widen the availability of marijuana use. Mr. Cauchon's marijuana bill is even more bizarre when one considers that even liberal Belgium, which has legalized euthanasia, same-sex marriage and, of course, abortion on demand, permits its citizens to possess only 3 grams of marijuana without being charged. We are indeed a "progressive" - or perhaps out-of-control - nation.

There are many other problems with this legislation - not the least being the removal of the stigma against the use of the drug. The Canadian message to teenagers is now, "Don't drink and drive, just toke and drive." Unfortunately too, police will not be able to pull over drivers who are impaired by marijuana, as there is no scientific way by which marijuana use can be measured. Moreover, if the impaired driver is pulled over and is in possession of 15 grams of marijuana, the police will not be able to charge the driver. In short, this bill creates a serious, public safety issue for Canadians.

Another grievous problem with this bill is that it does not provide for a minimum sentence for marijuana growers. This omission is critical since our lenient courts have constantly imposed very light sentences on pot growers. Consequently, pot growers regard the courts' penalties as only one of the costs of doing their million dollar business. This bill will allow these sentencing practices to continue, and the increase in the maximum sentence is irrelevant, since the courts ignore it anyway and apply without fail, insignificant punishment.

Another unfortunate problem with this legislation is that it sets much lower fines for underage offenders than for adults ($100 vs $150), thus making it a most attractive option for drug dealers to use minors to peddle marijuana to their peers. It is reefer excess gone to madness.

One would have thought that Mr. Cauchon and the Department of Justice would have foreseen these obvious problems with the bill. Enthusiasm for decriminalizing marijuana appears to have trampled all over good judgement and common sense.

Outcry Against the Bill

Not surprisingly, this legislation has sparked an outcry from the police, anti-drunk driving campaigners, doctors, political opponents and even loud protests from the Liberal government's own back benchers. The majority of provincial governments have also spoken out against this legislation -- the loudest objections being from the four largest provinces, Ontario, Quebec, BC and Alberta, who argue that marijuana possession laws send confusing messages to young people and encourage organized crime to grow and sell even more marijuana.

Commentators on both the CNN and BBC International networks, on May 16, 2003, made a very pertinent remark about this bill: "It is surprising that the Canadian government has brought forward this marijuana legislation when there appears to be so little demand for it and so much objection to it." A perceptive insight.

Perhaps this legislation is just another of Mr. Chrétien's legacy items. He personally wants to make a mark in Canadian history. But at what price for Canadian society?

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