cannabisnews.com: Pot Penalties Out of Whack, MPs Say 





Pot Penalties Out of Whack, MPs Say 
Posted by CN Staff on December 12, 2002 at 15:24:53 PT
By Bruce Cheadle, Canadian Press 
Source: Canadian Press 
Current penalties for pot possession are too stiff, a parliamentary committee said Thursday, in recommending fines rather than criminal convictions for possessing small amounts. "Smoking any amount of marijuana is unhealthy, but the consequences of conviction for a small amount of marijuana for personal use are disproportionate to the potential harm," said Liberal MP Paddy Torsney, chair of the committee. 
Possession of up to 30 grams of marijuana should be treated as a regulatory offence and not land someone a criminal record, the special parliamentary committee on the non-medicinal use of drugs recommended. Critics, both in Canada and the United States, were quick to jump on the recommendations. But the report got a favourable response from Justice Minister Martin Cauchon, who has promised to ease marijuana possession laws early in the new year. Cauchon thanked the committee Thursday for its "very interesting, very important" recommendations. "Let me be clear here," he added. "What we're talking about is decriminalization. We're not talking about to legalize." Canadian police and the U.S. drug control czar said easing the penalties is a step in the wrong direction. "The message this sends to our youth is that we are trivializing the use of marijuana," said Mike Niebudek, vice-president of the Canadian Police Association. And John Walters, director of the U.S. office of drug control policy, held a news conference in Buffalo where he warned that softer drug policies in Canada could create border security problems and contribute to an increased flow of Canadian-grown pot to the U.S. market. Walters warned of lax attitudes "left over from the Cheech and Chong years of the '60s," and cautioned against "reefer-madness madness." The Commons committee was clear, however, that pot should not be legalized. And it excluded hashish and other cannabis-based products from the 30-gram leniency provision. But for small amounts of pot - including plants cultivated at home - "fines would be paid without a court appearance and enforcement would not result in a criminal conviction," said Torsney. The committee report, which was not unanimously endorsed, also maintains that trafficking in any amount of marijuana remain a crime, a point Cauchon stressed in an attempt to allay U.S. concerns. "What we would like to do is be even tougher on those involved in organized crime and smuggling drugs and trafficking," he said. "We want to make sure we focus our resources where it really counts for society." The idea of permitting smokers to grow their own would reduce the demand for dangerous grow operations, said Torsney. "We would prefer that you have your (own) one plant if you're a Saturday night smoker." The report also calls for: - Government prevention and education programs, especially for young people. - A renewed national drug strategy and a federal drug commissioner to oversee it and report annually to Parliament. - A stronger emphasis on stopping drug-impaired drivers. - $3 million in federal funding each year for the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. The committee did not propose an amnesty for people with records for previous possession convictions. An estimated 600,000 Canadians have criminal records for possession of cannabis products. The possession law dates from the 1920s. Committee member Kevin Sorenson said the 30-gram limit - which translates into an ounce in street parlance and could be used to roll about 50 joints - is too high and that hefty fines should be levelled at anyone possessing up to five grams. Hydroponically grown marijuana sells for up to $15 a gram. New Democrat Libby Davies, another committee member, says the Liberal-dominated committee didn't go nearly far nearly. "The NDP sees decriminalization as only a partial solution," she said. "These recommendations need a great deal of work if we are serious about removing the intrusive power of police when it comes to personal use of cannabis." And marijuana advocate Marc-Boris St. Maurice called the report short-sighted. "It's a lot of political rhetoric and people getting mileage out of marijuana without any real intention to do anything," said the Marijuana Party member. "It's just blowing smoke." Complete Title: Pot Penalties Out of Whack, MPs Say in Recommending Fines for Small Amounts Source: Canadian PressAuthor: Bruce Cheadle, Canadian Press Published: Thursday, December 12, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Canadian PressRelated Articles & Web Sites:Committee Report: Cannabishttp://freedomtoexhale.com/cr.htmCannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmU.S. Frets Canada May Ease Marijuana Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14961.shtmlDecriminalize Small Amounts of Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14958.shtmlCommittee To Recommend 30-Gram Pot Limit http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14951.shtml
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Comment #12 posted by Naaps on December 12, 2002 at 23:58:23 PT
Musings
The Commons Special Committee on Non-Medical Drugs has released its draft report. Presumably, a more detailed report is to follow, but for the general public the interesting developments will already have disseminated on the public conscious. Considering the generally prohibition butters-my-bread biased view of the handpicked witnesses, bickering and dissent among committee members, and less rigor than that demonstrated by the rival Senate Committee; the recommendations nonetheless are a step forward, perhaps faltering, but forward.The committee’s recommendations show progress toward a greater health emphasis, more education, more research, more treatment. Compared to the woeful muddled state of Canada’s National Drug Program, overall the recommendations are sound, though more radical reform could easily be envisioned. From the perspective of where the social attitudes and the moral laws floated by them has come to now, the evolution of social policy, this incremental step should have activists smiling. Then, once recommendations are actually implemented, efforts to take another incremental step can be pursued.The Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs had to winnow its initial ambitious goal of studying all drugs to extensively studying only cannabis. Their comprehensive, thoroughly rigorous, and transparent process was not equaled by the Commons Special Committee, but probably the average Canadian wouldn’t be aware of the discrepancy. While, the Senate Committee was maligned for being appointed - not elected, and therefore, supposedly out of touch, they invited greater participation through townhall meetings with an open microphone. The Commons Committee only allowed invited witnesses. Cannabis Culture editor Dana Larson managed to petition the committee to allow him to participate in the Abbottsford meeting, he gave a short spiel and then was mostly ignored during the question period. At the end of the meeting MP White called upon the witnesses to declare if cannabis was a gateway drug, and all six except Dana asserted that it was. Some of the most hysterical prohibitionists in Canada were invited to testify for the Commons Committee, including Linda Bentall of IDEAS and Gwendolyn Landolt of REAL Women of Canada.Conspicuously absent from the Commons Committee draft report was any doubt that government had a role in authorizing a citizen’s conduct, negating individual autonomy to make small decisions over mind and body without harming others. The Senate Committee deliberated this point. Tomorrow the Supreme Court of Canada hears the constitutional challenge on this very point.Releasing the committee’s draft report pertaining to cannabis just before the challenge is suspicious. In a Globe and Mail article, lawyer Paul Burstein muses that this is posturing by the government to influence to Court. The idea is interesting but the legal arguments shouldn’t be affected.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on December 12, 2002 at 20:49:18 PT
CTV.ca Marijuana Facts and Figures
http://popups.ctv.ca/content/publish/popups/marijuana_facts/mainpage.html
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on December 12, 2002 at 18:32:13 PT
JSM 
That is exactly why I do this everyday. Let's keep hoping because even though sometimes things look grim, on the other side, a little way down the road, could very well be our rainbow!
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Comment #9 posted by JSM on December 12, 2002 at 18:19:25 PT
Dream
Someday, someday FOM is going to post an article saying "Cannabis Legal in Canada" and maybe if we are really lucky the same will happen here in US. We can all have that dream.
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Comment #8 posted by The GCW on December 12, 2002 at 17:59:32 PT
Pot-TV Star still growing 
http://www.hempbc.com/articles/2757.htmlKubby radiant despite radiation
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on December 12, 2002 at 17:06:14 PT
pokesmotter 
I'll check out you page as soon as I answer you. I believe but am not sure that Pot TV can do a conversion. They seem very sophiscated. I'm not really sure what their email is but it should be on their web site. I'm sure they will have an answer at least. I don't know anything about videos on line. That's way over my head. Good Luck to you!
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Comment #6 posted by pokesmotter on December 12, 2002 at 17:02:03 PT:
FoM
I created a web page tonight and put the link to my outline on it. It is a rough one, becuase I haven't had and maintained a site of my own for a while. I would ask POT-TV to put my video online but it is on a VHS video tape. I don't know what I would have to do to get that converted into a video file i can save. Here is the link to my website:
My Web Page
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Comment #5 posted by The GCW on December 12, 2002 at 16:52:46 PT
Reefer Madness in the Flesh =_=
John Walters is Reefer Madness in the flesh, so don't try to pull no boogie woogie on Cannabis News.& YES: Caging humans for using cannabis is so mean spirited, repulsive, and sinful, that it should be asked if cannabis prohibitionists really even comprehend that they're admitting a desire to cage humans for using a plant?Caging humans for using cannabis, qualifies as a hate crime. A hate crime prescribed by government.You can not have it both ways, either You believe in TRUTH or You take pleasure in wickedness 2Th. 2:12. In comparing the sequel to the original (extra chrispy) prohibition, We have gone from Al Capone to Al Qaeda.Imagine the effects if the prohibitionists had their way. We’d have drugs, the plant cannabis and booze also prohibited and the cost to soiety would be a killer. We’d have Al Qaeda and Al Capone united. It’s time for superior citizens, to end what may be the original living sin, and Re-legalize cannabis. 
Peace be upon YouAnd peace be upon those who withhold good to those whom it is due. ("Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act." 
-Proverbs 3:27)The Green Collar Worker 
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on December 12, 2002 at 16:37:07 PT
pokesmotter 
Can you post it in a comment? Can you post it on a web page? I try to put as much as I can on my personal web page. I am a firm believer that people should have a web site that are activists. It's the best way to get what you are doing circulated for others to read. PS: Have you asked Pot TV about putting your video on line? They might be able to do that. Just a suggestion.
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Comment #3 posted by pokesmotter on December 12, 2002 at 16:21:33 PT:
hi FoM
hey i was wondering about something. i recently gave a speech in my communications class here in college about decriminalization. It was by far my best speech of the year. I thought it might interest you and maybe some people here. I have a video of it (VHS) and my outline here on my computer. I also used the phrase i have seen here a lot about "caging humans for using a plant." This issue is something I am passionate about. Should i try to post them on a web page and put a link here?
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on December 12, 2002 at 16:17:38 PT
CBC.ca Audio
http://www.cbc.ca/clips/ram-audio/petrovic_w6021212.ram
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on December 12, 2002 at 16:01:38 PT
Videos from CTV
Hi Everyone,I can't figure out how to post the video so here is the link and they are on the right hand side of this page.http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1039684898577_113///?hub=TopStories
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