PM: NO PLANS TO REDUCE PENALTY FOR POT

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Jean Chretien says there are no plans to
decriminalize pot possession "at this time."

Chretien says he favours the government's position that allows marijuana
use for medical purposes, but welcomes the buzz in an emerging debate over
decriminalization. He stressed that decriminalization "is not part of the
government's agenda at this time."

Earlier yesterday, the Canadian Police Association charged that MPs,
senators and some police chiefs are being seduced by a shadowy drug lobby
that wants possession of pot decriminalized.

Canada's rank-and-file cops made a pitch before a Senate committee
yesterday warning of the evils of decriminalizing marijuana, trotting out
the 1950s argument that smoking pot is a "gateway" to harder drugs.

Opposition

"Canada must resist the seductive temptations being advanced by a
sophisticated drug lobby," David Griffin, executive director of the CPA,
said at a news conference. He refused to identify the lobby.

Griffin fingered MPs including Tory Leader Joe Clark, who supports
decriminalization of small amounts of weed, and Canadian Alliance MP Keith
Martin, who introduced a private member's bill in the Commons earlier this
month calling for decriminalizing simple possession.

"Perceived tolerance by community leaders is sending ... confusing messages
to our young people," Griffin said.

Supporters of decriminalization such as the Association of Canadian Police
Chiefs and RCMP favour handing out tickets to people caught with small
amounts of marijuana -- a move they say will save scarce resources and ease
the clogged court system.