Canada’s new Conservative Party Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Monday that Ottawa does not intend to reintroduce legislation to legalize small amounts of marijuana. Speaking to the Canadian Professional Police Association, Harper received applause when he reiterated that the legislation drawn up by the previous Liberal Party government would not be reintroduced when the new Parliament sits Monday. The bill, which had alarmed law enforcement officials in Canada and the United States, died on the floor of the House of Commons after the Liberal Party lost elections in January. Under the bill, getting caught with about half an ounce or less of marijuana would have brought a citation akin to a traffic ticket, not a criminal record. While possession of marijuana would have remained illegal, the bill was intended to prevent young people from being saddled with a lifelong criminal record. U.S. authorities worried the legislation would have weakened their efforts to curb marijuana exports from Canada, which has numerous marijuana farms, particularly in the lush western province of British Columbia. Canadian marijuana activist Marc Emery of Vancouver, known as ‘the prince of pot’ and recently profiled by the CBS’ ’60 Minutes,’ is under U.S. […]
Tuesday, April 4th, 2006
Canada Scraps Plans to Legalize Marijuana
Author:
Source: The Associated Press
Publication Date: Mon Apr 3, 3:13 PM ET
Link: Canada Scraps Plans to Legalize Marijuana
Source: The Associated Press
Publication Date: Mon Apr 3, 3:13 PM ET
Link: Canada Scraps Plans to Legalize Marijuana
Stephan: