Conservative MP Randy Kamp (Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge-Mission) hopes the sentencing legislation introduced this past week is passed by spring 2008.

The legislative reforms are part of the Conservative's two-year $63.8-million anti-drug strategy, announced last month. The strategy aims at preventing illegal drug use by youth, treating people who have drug addictions and fighting illegal drug crime.

"Most parties talk about being tough on crime, but when it actually comes down to it, the NDP and Liberals don't always back that up in the way that they vote," Kamp said.

The provincial correctional services, he added, will have to figure out how to house the extra prisoners, if the legislation leads to increased convictions with jail time.

Kamp believes good, strong legislation will be deterrent.

"I hope that those who are involved in these kind of activities see this and think that this is a good time to get out of the business. I hope we'll be putting fewer people in jail," Kamp said.

Darryl Plecas, a criminologist at the University College of the Fraser Valley who has studied marijuana sentencing, argues the sentences detailed in the new legislation are still too short.

He said the penalties are unlikely to deter organized crime groups who make large profits from the illegal marijuana trade.

"It might be a deterrent to those people just getting in, but it is so typical of proposed legislation.

"It gets watered down. If you were going to whack people with a 10- or 15-year sentence, you'd get people stomping their [marijuana] grows tomorrow."

004 H.U.M.A.N.: Hemp Users Medical Access Network - Toronto Medical Marijuana