cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Decriminalization Possible by Summer Marijuana Decriminalization Possible by Summer Posted by CN Staff on March 21, 2003 at 08:21:26 PT By Shannon Kari, CanWest News Service Source: Ottawa Citizen Justice Minister Martin Cauchon repeated his commitment yesterday to introduce legislation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, possibly as early as this summer."The criminal law is a blunt tool; it is only effective if it is applied consistently and if it reflects true social consensus on an issue," Mr. Cauchon said during a luncheon speech in Toronto at the Empire Club of Canada. "I am troubled by the inconsistent application of the criminal law to the possession of small amounts of marijuana for criminal use." "Your children or grandchildren may not be charged if they are caught in Toronto, but kids in small towns across Canada are being charged for exactly the same behaviour. This means that kids are ending up with a criminal conviction," Mr. Cauchon told the business audience."This can have a devastating impact on their lives -- from the types of jobs they can get, to travelling or going to university in other countries, particularly the United States," he added.Mr. Cauchon did not respond directly to a question about whether the federal government will be able to change the marijuana laws in the face of strong opposition on the issue from the U.S. government.But he suggested Australia's "ticketing regime," which involves fines for possession of small amounts of marijuana "would be more efficient for law enforcement" in Canada and free up resources to combat drug trafficking and organized crime.Last December, the justice minister pledged to introduce new marijuana legislation by the end of April."At one level, his comments are very encouraging," said Toronto lawyer Paul Burstein, who has been involved in a number of high-profile challenges to the marijuana possession and medical marijuana laws.However, Mr. Burstein noted that Mr. Cauchon's comments about the impact of a criminal conviction for marijuana possession "are completely inconsistent with the position that his lawyers have taken in a factum filed with the Supreme Court of Canada."The Supreme Court was supposed to hear arguments last December to decide if potential criminal sanctions for marijuana possession violate the Charter of Rights. The court decided to postpone the hearing because of the apparently conflicting positions put forward by Mr. Cauchon and Justice Department lawyers.A new hearing date of May 6 was announced last week by the Supreme Court and Mr. Burstein said he does not believe it is a coincidence that Mr. Cauchon is again talking publicly about decriminalization of marijuana.He predicted that the Justice Department will ask to postpone the Supreme Court hearing for a second time "because the government is about to do something."Complete Title: Marijuana Decriminalization Possible by Summer: CauchonSource: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)Author: Shannon Kari, CanWest News Service Published: Friday, March 21, 2003 Copyright: 2003 The Ottawa CitizenContact: letters thecitizen.southam.caWebsite: http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/ Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmCanadian Government Looks at Ticketing Pot Usershttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15762.shtmlCommittee Calls for Decriminalization of Cannabishttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14957.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 21, 2003 at 18:33:44 PT I Have an Idea I know this won't work but why not totally legalize Cannabis and find out if it can work. Do a couple year trial and if it doesn't work return the law to it's current state. Then they would see it would work. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by afterburner on March 21, 2003 at 18:14:25 PT: To Justice Department I say, 'No more postponing!' Do something first, then the courts can rule on it. Stop stalling!ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Big Trees on March 21, 2003 at 15:25:03 PT Gee anyone surprised? Ya ok tell me this wasn't going to happen... big deal people are not going though the system at this time anyway. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by WolfgangWylde on March 21, 2003 at 11:03:00 PT The only reason... ...he's addressing the issue at all is to stall the court cases. He has no intention of doing anything. Hopefully the Supreme Court won't fall for this BS a second time. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Virgil on March 21, 2003 at 10:12:19 PT I do not believe decrimilization is legal The Special Senate Committee Report on Illegal Drugs did not say that cannabis should be legal for people over 15 for nothing. Here is the PDF version of the Summary section of their September 2002 report- http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/ille-e/rep-e/summary-e.pdfOn pages 11 and 12 the report says- On the whole, the legal basis of the criminal law is weak where the prescribed standard first, does not concern a relationship with others and where the characteristics of the relationship do not establish a victim and a perpetrator able to recognize his/her actions; second, has to find its justification outside fundamental social relationships; and third, results in the form of enforcement, the harmful effects of which undermine and challenge the very legitimacy of the law. Where criminal law is involved in these issues, the very standard prescribed by the law turns the perpetrator into the victim and tries to protect him from himself, something it can do only by producing a never-ending stream of knowledge that remains constantly out of his reach. In this context only offences involving significant direct danger to others should be matters of criminal law. On page 40 it list offences that have victims when it says-From this concept of government action ensues a limited role for criminal law. As far as cannabis is concerned, only behaviour causing demonstrable harm to others should be prohibited: illegal trafficking, selling to minors and impaired driving. In the third paragraph of Chapter3(page 12 of PDF file) in the Summary the important words come- The goal of governance is freedom, and not control. The thought continues to the fourth paragraph on page 13 of the PDF- In this context only offences involving significant direct danger to others should be matters of criminal law. Under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms there needs to be a reason to restrict freedom and the burden rest on the government to defend that restriction. That is the bit of information I have yet to see presented on the case for prohibition unless all it takes is one person to go around and only say "Marijuana is a dangerous drug" in which case freedom is unconstitutionally denied because of a lie. The Charter can be read here- http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/#garantie The following is the opening statement of the Charter.1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment