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The Honourable Gerry Byrne
Hill Office
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1A 0A6
Telephone: 613-996-5511
Fax: 613-996-9632
Mail may be sent postage-free to any Member of Parliament.
Constituency Office(s)
- 14 Main Street, 2nd Floor (Main Office) Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador A2H 1B9 Telephone: 709-637-4540 Fax: 709-637-4537
© House of Commons
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(emailed orgional from author)
The Telegram (St. John's)
Local, Saturday,
April 28, 2012, p. A5
POLITICS
Most N.L. MPs favour decriminalization
They're stopping short of calling for marijuana to be legalized, but most of the MPs from this province favour its decriminalization.
That would see simple possession subject to a fine rather than jail time.
Unsurprisingly, given his party's ultra-tough stand on crime, Conservative Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Peter Penashue, the MP for Labrador, issued a statement to The Telegram saying he does not support the legalization of marijuana.
"And our government has no intention of legalizing it. That said, we are not making any changes to the law when it comes to simple marijuana possession. Rather we will continue to target the source of the illicit drug trade - the drug traffickers and those who import drugs into Canada," Penashue said.
Liberal Avalon MP Scott Andrews is ardent in his opinion.
"Legalize, regulate and tax it," he said.
Andrews said police officers need to use their resources to pursue more urgent criminal activity than pot use.
NDP St. John's South-Mount Pearl MP Ryan Cleary wants it decriminalized.
"I feel no one should go to jail for possessing a couple of joints. I said exactly that when I stood on the floor of the House of Commons and spoke about the omnibus crime bill," he said.
"The Harper administration is imposing mandatory minimum sentences for as few as six pot plants. I don't agree with that at all."
Cleary said he can't remember the last time he went to a social gathering where there wasn't someone inside or outside smoking pot.
"It is part of our society now," he said.
"Decriminalization all the way. I am not for outright legalization at this point - one step at a time."
St. John's East NDP MP Jack Harris said the criminalization of marijuana is not an appropriate answer.
"We want an approach focused on harm reduction, rather than criminalization," he said.
"We're very concerned about the Conservatives' war on drugs. ... They're actually giving people disincentives to rehabilitate themselves by putting criminal records on them that affects the rest of their lives. ... That is wrong."
Harris said if the NDP was to form a government, decriminalization would be in order, but the party would likely seek experts and a commission to debate the merits of legalization.
Longtime Liberal Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte MP Gerry Byrne is not in favour of legalizing it, though he acknowledges people from all walks of life smoke the stuff.
"I am in favour of decriminalizing possession of amounts less than that intended for the purposes of trafficking," he said.
"There is a very real difference in decriminalizing versus legalization. Speeding is not a criminal offence, but it is certainly not legal. Reckless driving, on the other hand, with its potential to cause bodily harm, is a criminal offence," he said.
"I believe imposing mandatory minimum sentences of six months in prison for growing six marijuana plants will simply make hardened criminals out of otherwise peaceful, non-violent citizens. Jails have been termed by many corrections experts as 'crime colleges,' where people who would otherwise not be exposed to violent criminal elements and habits - and to addiction risk from drugs within the prison system - are suddenly cast into such situations for months on end. This can only and will only ever lead to a bad result."
Liberal Bonavista-Gander-Grand Falls-Windsor MP Scott Simms said he would entertain the idea of decriminalizing marijuana and how legislators could aid law enforcement agencies by "not having them bogged down with frivolous, small possession charges."
Judy Foote, Liberal MP for Random-Burin-St. George's, also supports decriminalization, but would need to know more about the consequences before entertaining the idea of legalizing the substance.
"I certainly support the availability of marijuana for cancer patients, which is one reason I support decriminalization. To treat someone as a criminal who gets pain relief from a disease like cancer by using marijuana would be criminal itself," she said.
Provincial Justice Minister Felix Collins declined comment, as the decision as to whether or not to legalize marijuana is in federal jurisdiction.
Legalization advocates such as Mike Dawe of the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Marijuana Society say decriminalization can't work, as it makes it OK to possess pot, but users would still have to get it somewhere because the sale of it would be a criminal offence.
bsweet@thetelegram.com
Boxe(s):
MPs ON MARIJUANA USE
The Telegram asked the seven MPs from Newfoundland and Labrador if they have ever tried, or currently use marijuana.
Liberal Gerry Byrne: "I do not use marijuana or any other illicit drug."
Liberal Judy Foote: "Never."
Liberal Scott Andrews: Has tried it in the past but does not use it now.
Liberal Scott Simms: "I have in the past and admit to inhaling."
NDP Ryan Cleary: Has smoked it in the past.
NDP Jack Harris: "A guy like me who went to university in the '60s, all sorts of things were going on then ... I don't think my personal history has anything to do with this."
Conservative Peter Penashue: No response
© 2012 The Telegram (St. John's). All rights reserved.
Document number: news·20120428·ET·0008
***
Don't know stance
Post by Sam Vekemans.
@Gerry_Byrne Isn't it about time to unschedule Cannabis for a SAFER Canada? Thanks in advance for your support! #cdnpoli
— Sam Vekemans (@acrosscanada) February 12, 2014
*** On Dec 19, 2013 1:17 AM, "Sam Vekemans" <@gmail.com> wrote:
December 19, 2013
Member: Hon. Gerry Byrne Constituency: Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte Constituency Office: 14 Main Street, 2nd Floor (Main Office) Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador A2H 1B9
Telephone: 709-637-4540 Fax: 709-637-4537 Email: gerry.byrne@parl.gc.ca
re: Does Hon. Gerry Byrne support the removal of cannabis as a schedule II controlled substance from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (S.C. 1996, c. 19)?
Dear Hon. Gerry Byrne,
Do you support the simple removal of cannabis as a schedule II controlled substance from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (S.C. 1996, c. 19)?, and let it be treated the same as Lettuce, Tomato, Oregano, Roses, Aloe Vera, Fern or any other common garden herb, flower or house plant?
Do you know the difference between Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indica, and Cannabis Ruderalis?
I look forward to receiving your responses as it will be made public, so then others wont need to ask you the same question.
Kind regards,
Sam Vekemans
(address)
P.S. All 307 Members of Parliament are being asked these same questions.
ref: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-38.8/page-25.html SCHEDULE II (Sections 2, 3, 4 to 7, 10, 29, 55 and 60) 1.Cannabis, its preparations, derivatives and similar synthetic preparations, including ... .
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