B.C. MP calls for legalization of marijuana

A Vancouver Island MP is calling for the decriminalization of marijuana, saying the war on drugs "has been a complete failure.''

Keith Martin, the Federal Liberal MP for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, backed up that plea by tabling a bill in Ottawa Thursday that would make it legal to possess up to 30 grams of pot or two marijuana plants.

"The war on drugs has been a complete failure,'' Martin told the House of Commons. He said the bill aims to break the ties between the simple marijuana user and organized crime elements.

This would be achieved, Martin said, by eliminating demand for the product and undermining the financial underpinnings of organized crime in Canada.

He said anyone caught with amounts of over 30 grams, would face a fine instead of having to go through the legal system.

Martin said proceeds could be used to fund programs that aim to prevent children from using drugs.

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  Vancouver Island Liberal MP Keith Martin tables a bill in Ottawa that calls for marijuana to be legalized. April 2nd, 2009.