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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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CN ON: Treat potheads: Chief
ccguide Monday 05 Jun 2000 Pubdate: Sun, 04 Jun 2000 Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON) Copyright: 2000, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: Address: 333 King St. E., Toronto, Ontario M5A 3X5 Canada Fax: (416) 947-3228 Website: http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoSun/ Forum: http://www.canoe.ca/Chat/newsgroups.html Author: Irene Papakonstantinou TREAT POTHEADS: CHIEF Fantino Says Marijuana Use Should Be Decriminalized Toronto's new police chief believes Canada needs to decriminalize the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana and deal with the issue in a more "contemporary way." "Simply put, we need to focus a great deal more on education, on treatment and looking at a drug strategy that also addresses the health issues," Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino said yesterday at the last of 18 divisional community meetings that he had scheduled over the past seven weeks. Fantino wants to clarify he is not in favour of legalizing marijuana, but simply decriminalzing it so that his 7,000-strong police force can focus on more serious crime. "The punishment isn't the issue in cases like this, it's making the system work," he said. "We're responding to the issue in a more contemporary way, allowing our police officers and the criminal justice system to get on with the more serious issues we have to deal with." Fantino, who says he is terrified of illicit drugs and has never used anything other than a prescription, suggests those caught with small-time pot possession be mandated to enter a treatment program, rather than going through a time- and money-consuming judicial process. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police approved a proposal in April 1999 which calls for the decriminalization of simple possession of marijuana and its derivatives. Currently, possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana is a summary conviction offence, which doesn't yield a criminal record. Meanwhile, Fantino said Toronto Police need more people from the black community to join law enforcement. "Like it or not, the police are on the forefront of racial issues," Fantino told the crowd of nearly 500 at the Association of Black Law Enforcers (ABLE) scholarship ball in Mississauga last night. "We all have to try harder to maintain the public's trust ... Even though some (officers) may find it difficult to change at the accelerated pace demanded by policy-makers and the public." ABLE gave four $1,000 scholarships to students Chike Jeffers, Nadia McLeod, Faith Ann Blair and Sharma Macdonald. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
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