Pubdate: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Copyright: 2003, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: http://www.fyiedmonton.com/htdocs/edmsun.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135 Author: Bill Rodgers PERSONAL POT OK - MARTIN But Would-Be Grit Leader Wouldn't Legalize It 'Under Any Circumstances' OTTAWA - Decriminalizing possession of small amounts of pot for personal use has the support of Grit leadership frontrunner Paul Martin. "I think the idea of giving a young person a criminal record because they happened to get caught with a very, very small quantity (five to 30 grams) once in their life - I don't think that's what we should be doing," Martin told Sun Media. But he added: "I would not, under any circumstances, make it legal." Justice Minister Martin Cauchon hopes to have legislation before the Commons before its summer recess. The plan would be to ticket offenders caught with small amounts for personal use rather than drag them through the courts and leave them with a criminal record that could haunt them for a lifetime. Martin also noted the unequal treatment of the current law across the country and the estimated 30,000 people charged with simple possession of pot every year. "You know, if you take a look at the situation, the backlog of cases out there is huge and this is part of the problem. The other thing is in some parts of the country you're prosecuted and in other parts of the country you're just let go." Meanwhile, buying new helicopters for the military will be made an "absolute priority" for a government led by Martin, the top Grit leadership contender. "We have wasted too much time," Martin declared in a CBC Newsworld interview yesterday. The Chretien government cancelled an EH-101 contract signed by the Tories in 1993 that would have replaced aging Sea King helicopters. Martin said so far as he is concerned there is no issue of political embarassment if a decision was made to go back to the same company for the choppers. "The only issue is we want to get the best helicopter that we possibly can for the money," said Martin, adding, "we want to make sure that our military has the best equipment that they can have." The man most likely to succeeed Jean Chretien told Sun Media yesterday he doesn't want to be thought of as a one-term prime minister. Martin, who will be 65 by the time of the Liberal leadership convention this November, said, "I want to be prime minister as long as I feel I'm dealing with the issues properly." Asked if he would need a second term to fulfil an activist government agenda, Martin said, "Those are judgment calls you make along the way. "I have a pretty clear set of priorities, things that I want to get done and I want to do them. And once they're done, then I can pass things on to somebody new." Asked if he would be satisfied waiting almost three months to take over the reins of power from Jean Chretien, Martin said, "I don't think there is any great problem there." Chretien still plans to leave office in February 2004. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek