It won't be legal, but...

[sNyx]

Originally posted @ mytelus.com

OTTAWA (CP) - Jean Chretien may never have smoked a joint, but he's determined to amend federal law so young people who do toke up won't be haunted by a criminal record for the rest of their lives.
The prime minister drew applause - and a few whoops of joy - when he told a Liberal fundraising dinner Tuesday night to expect legislation soon. "Don't start to smoke yet," he quickly cautioned the celebrants in the audience. "We're not legalizing it, we're decriminalizing."

The distinction is important.

The Criminal Code amendments, expected to be introduced in the Commons within the next two months, will make possession of small amounts of pot a minor offence that would be treated something like a traffic violation.

"So you will have another ticket," said Chretien. "For losing your senses, or something like that."

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has repeatedly promised decriminalization. But he has put off action for months, leading some to wonder whether the government was serious.

Chretien's declaration, in the unlikely setting of a $500-a-plate dinner for well-heeled party donors, left no room for doubt.

A series of court cases in recent months has helped to force Ottawa's hand, as judges in several provinces threw out federal laws against simple possession and prosecutors put more and more cases on hold.

The Supreme Court of Canada, for its part, put off a hearing last December on a constitutional challenge to the pot law that would finally have clarified the judicial record.

The judges decided there was no point in dealing with the issue since Cauchon was publicly promising at the time to change the law. The hearing was eventually rescheduled for the current court term, but some legal observers believe it may be put off again.

The decriminalization debate in Canada has echoed south of the border, where U.S. officials have warned that Washington would not look with favour on lenient drug laws for its next-door neighbours.

Perhaps with that in mind, Chretien was careful to specify that his only aim is to ensure youths don't get tagged as criminals for experimenting with small amounts of pot.

The prime minister promised the softer line on simple possession will be accompanied by a wider anti-drug strategy that will continue to be tough on traffickers. And he made it clear he's not motivated by memories of his own younger years.

"I never tasted it in my life," he said. "I smoked cigarettes when I was a kid, when my father didn't want me to smoke. When he gave me permission at 16, I stopped."

Interesting. :)

[~APAKA~]

Good info!!!
I was wondering what was going on with that...
Seriously, weed is as common as booze in canada, and booze is legal!!
They'll never emphasis the whole decriminalizing/legalizing thing tho. Ah well...
Proud to say i smoke canadian canibus

[phat_wop_gino]

I heard there is a march for legalization, this saturday,i also say lets go and light a few up....

[agent.starling]

hmmm ... good to know. i wonder what the us has to say about that.


-la.

[AGROculture]

that is great cause you won't get a criminal record for a lil bit of weed, cause thats just stupid

However remember this.....

if you get caught with a gram or two of weed its usually stomped on and taken away, mainly because they don't want to put you in a holding cell, process papers and then have to go to court about it.....costs to much

Now when they find you witha couple grams it can cost you a pretty penny!!

so in other words there's always pro and cons to everything

AGROout