Tories hint at mandatory terms for growing pot

OTTAWA —The Canadian Press Mon. May 3

The Tories may revive a bill that would impose mandatory minimum sentences on people convicted of growing small numbers of pot plants. The Conservative government will reintroduce its drug bill this week in the Senate, as part of its continued retabling of tough-on-crime bills that died when the last Parliament was prorogued. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson is hinting that the new legislation would revive a controversial provision — a mandatory six-month sentence for people convicted of growing as few as five pot plants. The Senate altered the Conservative bill in December by raising the mandatory minimum sentence provision to convictions for 200 plants. Nicholson now says with the Conservatives in control of the Senate, he expects to get the drug bill passed quickly, as he originally intended it. Nicholson won’t give specific details, except to say that there will be mandatory sentencing provisions in the bill.