cannabisnews.com: Pot Bill Lets Youth, Drivers Get Off Easier





Pot Bill Lets Youth, Drivers Get Off Easier
Posted by CN Staff on May 28, 2003 at 07:41:00 PT
By Kim Lunman and Paul Koring
Source: Globe and Mail 
Ottawa and Washington -- Minors will pay less than adults if police catch them with small amounts of marijuana, and the cost of "drug driving" would be a maximum $400 fine under the federal government's proposed new law to decriminalize possession.Justice Minister Martin Cauchon and Health Minister Anne McLellan hailed the proposed legislation tabled in Parliament yesterday as modern "drug reform laws," vowing to fight the illegal narcotics trade with stiffer fines and jail terms for growers.
Under the proposed Cannabis Reform Bill, people under 18 caught with 15 grams or less of cannabis marijuana would be fined $100, while adults would be fined $150. Possession of one gram or less of cannabis resin or hashish oil would result in fines of $200 for youths and $300 for adults. Aggravating factors, such as possession while driving a vehicle, or while committing an indictable offence, or possession in or near schools, would mean fines of $400 for adults and $250 for youths.Possession of marijuana now carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.The federal government wants to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana by switching over to a ticketing system that would take the smaller cases out of Canadian courts and result in fewer criminal records for people convicted of smoking the drug. Proponents argue that the law now is unevenly applied across the country, and police widely use their discretion not to lay charges in cases involving small amounts."We are not legalizing marijuana and have no plans to do so," Mr. Cauchon told a news conference in Ottawa. "The decision to reform the law was not taken lightly. The time has come for us to reform this law."In Washington, John Walters, the White House director of drug-control policy, warned that the new legislation could lead to increased exports of marijuana from Canada into the United States and to a tightening of the world's longest undefended border.We have to "shut down the movement across the border," he told CTV News in Washington.Mr. Walters said the new Canadian law would reduce marijuana possession to "something like a ticket for jaywalking" and "remove the seriousness in people's minds" about its use. He also said most of the marijuana grown in Canada "is being shipped to the United States" and warned that Washington won't tolerate an increased flood of Canadian-grown varieties."We have a sovereign right to make our own laws," Solicitor-General Wayne Easter said in Ottawa. "The current laws aren't working."The government also announced plans yesterday to spend $245-million on a new national drug strategy. Nearly half of the money, to be phased in over five years, will go to the Health Department for programs and a mass media plan warning against pot use.Police officials and opposition critics quickly denounced the new bill and drug strategy."I'm not sure what kind of message they want to send, but youth discounts shouldn't be one of them," said Canadian Alliance MP Randy. "If they think this is going through the House fast, they're kidding themselves." Note: Strategy to combat drug use also planned.Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Kim Lunman and Paul KoringPublished: Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - Page A5 Copyright: 2003 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmA Realistic Revision of The Cannabis Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16421.shtmlExpecting Marijuana Bill To Pass?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16420.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by kaptinemo on May 28, 2003 at 09:11:43 PT:
Hmmm...now, wait a minute...
Look, I am not the only one who has thought this; I simply can't be.But hasn't Walters just admitted that all this "Fortress America" BS has been for naught? He's just made the nonsensical claim that BC Bud is being shipped into the US with practically no resisitance. Not so. Since the border was tightened, there is a bona fide glut of weed up there; smuggling arrests are up, and the prices on the Canadian side have largely fallen even by Canuck standards. (Besides, some of the the Canucks I know will smile sweetly and tell you they keep the best for themselves.) So, hasn't Walters just admitted for all the world to hear that the Canadian border is still as porous as a sponge? Hel-loooo! Calling all 'tairists', calling all 'tairists'!I still hold that there is a secret lab somewhere in the world where national political figures are covertly lobotomized and then returned to public life. How else can you explain the massively stupid inconsistencies?
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 28, 2003 at 07:57:24 PT
Many Articles but from Snipped Source
http://www.canada.com/search/results.aspx?keywords=marijuana
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