MP and premier: no comment
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jun 01/01) - Northern politicians appear leery about entering the debate on the decriminalization of marijuana.
Western Arctic MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew refused to comment on the issue.
"It's a complex issue and she said she'd rather not comment," said a staffer in Blondin-Andrew's Ottawa office.
Premier Stephen Kakfwi deferred comment on the issue to Justice Minister Jim Antoine. Calls to Antoine and Health and Social Services Minister Jane Groenewegen were not returned by deadline.
Whether Northern leaders want to take part in it or not, the federal government appears ready to discuss liberalizing marijuana laws.
A senate special committee on illegal drugs is currently considering whether marijuana laws should be changed.
Federal Justice Minister Anne McLellan has said she is willing to discuss relaxing marijuana laws. Conservative Party leader Joe Clark has called for the decriminalization of the drug.
A recent poll by a University of Lethbridge professor indicated 47 per cent of Canadians think marijuana should be legalized.
Because they are criminal code offenses, jurisdiction over penalties for marijuana falls to the federal government.
The current maximum penalty for a first-time charge of possessing less than an ounce of marijuana or a gram of marijuana resin is a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.
Those charged with possessing more than those amounts face a maximum sentence of seven years.
Though pot laws are the same for every part of Canada, enforcement can vary widely. In major urban centres, for instance, police officers routinely turn a blind eye to possession of small amounts of marijuana.
"That's not the trend here," said RCMP G Division Staff Sgt. Luther Cutts.
Cutts said in his experience judges in the North generally hand down harsher penalties for possession, particularly in the communities, than their southern counterparts.
"The courts really direct us on how to deal with this," Cutts said. If judges routinely give discharges to those charged with possessing small amounts of marijuana, police will stop laying charges in such cases.
