cannabisnews.com: Ottawa Eyes $100 Marijuana Fine





Ottawa Eyes $100 Marijuana Fine
Posted by CN Staff on May 13, 2003 at 07:34:00 PT
By Janice Tibbetts, CanWest News Service 
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist 
Ottawa -- The federal government is considering fining small-time marijuana users as little as $100 under decriminalization legislation that is expected to be introduced on Thursday.Sources say that the amount, equivalent to a low-level speeding ticket, was still under discussion Monday as Justice Department officials scrambled to put the finishing touches on their bill. The fine would be handed to people caught with less than 15 grams of marijuana, the equivalent of about half an ounce.
People caught with possession of more than 15 grams would still be subject to a criminal record that carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Small-time users would be governed by the non-criminal Contraventions Act, a little-used act which controls such things as driving on federal wharves and abandoning vessels in a public harbour. The anticipated penalty for marijuana possession would fall short of the current maximum fine under the Act of $500.The amount of pot to be decriminalized is only half the amount recommended by a special House of Commons committee on illicit drugs, which had proposed that criminal sanctions be lifted for less than 30 grams.The Justice Department had indicated it would accept the recommendation, but suddenly retreated in recent weeks.A particular concern is the growing prevalence of B.C. bud, a potent strain of marijuana that put Canada for the first time this year on a White House list of countries of concern in the war on drugs.The United States has been pressing Canada to abandon its decriminalization plan, warning that it would lead to delays at the border.The watered-down bill will include stiffer penalties for drug traffickers and people caught with marijuana grow operations.To underline the point, Justice Minister Martin Cauchon will present his plan to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft today.Cauchon is expected to stress that marijuana will remain illegal and that Canada will toughen penalties substantially for marijuana-growing operations.He already described the plan briefly to Ashcroft last week at a Paris meeting of justice ministers of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations, but today's meeting will give a fuller explanation.The federal legislation will be accompanied by a renewed national drug strategy, that will puts millions of dollars into drug prevention, education, and treatment.Randy White, a Canadian Alliance MP and vocal critic of the federal drug policy, opposes decriminalization. He said he believes that the government's plan will fail because judges will be reluctant to hand criminal records to people caught with 16 grams and minor fines to those possessing 14 grams.Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)Author: Janice Tibbetts, CanWest News Service Published: Tuesday, May 13, 2003Copyright: 2003 Times ColonistContact: letters times-colonist.comWebsite: http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmCauchon To Brief Cabinet, Then U.S. on Pot Planhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16273.shtmlOttawa's Marijuana Plan Irks US http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16241.shtml For Sensible Marijuana Policy, Go Northhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16225.shtml 
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Comment #1 posted by The GCW on May 13, 2003 at 07:41:01 PT
Finally, An Explanation
US WI: PUB LTE: Finally, An Explanationhttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n697/a09.html?397FINALLY, AN EXPLANATION Kudos to Dr. Melamede's marvelous letter detailing the government's incompetence and/or overriding agenda in the criminalization of marijuana. I write to take issue with only one aspect of that letter. While endocannabinoids may protect the brain from aging in most humans, there is anecdotal evidence that John Ashcroft's brain is not being protected from damage as he ages by his endocannabinoids. This may explain the government's incompetence if not its overriding agenda. Thomas J. Hillgardner Jamaica, New York Racine Journal Times, The (WI)
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