Canada proposed a new marijuana law Tuesday that decriminalizes up to 15 grams of marijuana. Offenders would receive a citation similar to a traffic ticket and pay a fine. There would be no criminal record attached to paying the citation.

Those under 18 years old could face fines of up to $182 for minor possession while adults could be fined the equivalent of $292. At the same time, the maximum sentence for illegal growers would be increased to 14 years in prison from the current seven, while trafficking would remain punishable by up to life in prison.

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said the law includes an education, research and treatment program aimed at persuading young people against drug use. The government intends to spend $179 million on the program.

Other issues regarding Canada's pot laws have yet to be resolved.

Canada's Supreme Court is considering a constitutional challenge to
laws that make it illegal to possess pot, and Ontario courts have
declared the federal law against possession to be invalid because of
legal questions.

The U.S., particularly Drug Czar John Walters, is upset with Canada for proposing to liberalize marijuana laws. The U.S. has threatened increased border searches if the bill becomes law. As we reported here last week:

Last week, U.S. drug czar John Walters suggested border traffic would slow to a crawl because the U.S. would increase inspections to stop smugglers from illegally shipping "poison" south.

Will Glaspy, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman, told The Detroit News yesterday that talk of decriminalizing pot in Canada would mean "more customs, more border patrols, more DEA. (source article here)

You can read the text of the Canadian bill here. A background briefing paper on the bill is here.

Ari Fleischer, asked about the bill at today's press briefing, gave his usual non-response: