MOST ALBERTANS BACK POT PROHIBITION

Opposition To Marijuana Legalization Highest Here

Keep your stash well hidden, as Albertans are the least likely Canadians to
weed out pot laws, a survey suggests.

The Leger Marketing study found only about 37% of Albertans favour
legalization of marijuana for personal use, compared to 53% in Quebec, 52%
in B.C., 46% in Ontario, 45% in the Maritimes and 37.4% in Manitoba and
Saskatchewan.

Overall, about 47% of Canadians favour legalization while the same amount
are against it, the survey showed.

"I would think support would be higher, even," said Matt Gemmell, manager
of True North Hemp Co. on Whyte Avenue. "Most everybody is
pro-legalization. They think it's an invasion of privacy."

However, Gemmell said there is a continuing debate between legalization and
decriminalization - the latter would treat pot under rules similar to alcohol.

Leger surveyed 1,507 people across the country between June 5 and 13. The
national results are considered accurate within plus or minus 2.6
percentage points 19 times out of 20.

"What this poll suggests is that the government doesn't necessarily have a
blank cheque," Jean-Marc Leger, president of Leger Marketing, said in an
interview.

"It might be acceptable to the population but it will also take a certain
dose of courage by politicians if they want to legalize it, because it's
not accepted by everyone in the same way," Leger said. The questions did
not distinguish between the use of pot for medicinal purposes and its
recreational use. Leger noted previous polls have indicated strong support
for the use of medicinal marijuana.

In April, Health Minister Allan Rock announced new rules to allow certain
people with terminal or serious illnesses to use pot to ease their
suffering. The move has met with little opposition and is to take effect by
the end of July.

But the Canadian Medical Association and the Canadian Association of Chiefs
of Police are among those to have called on Ottawa to take the bolder step
of decriminalizing the possession of marijuana for any kind of personal use.

Tory Leader Joe Clark recently called for the decriminalization of the
simple possession of small amounts of dope.

But a proposal in Red Deer to cut police costs by decriminalizing small
amounts of pot won't get past Ottawa, says a federal Crown prosecutor.

It costs $2,000 to $3,000 to convict someone in court for having pot, far
more than if a cop wrote a ticket.

"Anyone caught with 30 grams or less of marijuana would face a fine, not a
criminal record," said Steve Cross, chairman of the central Alberta city's
policing committee. The police committee hopes to debate the idea tomorrow.