MARIJUANA LINK IRKS U.S.

WASHINGTON - The murder of four RCMP officers in Mayerthorpe last week
may or may not end up having much to do with the marijuana grow
operation the killer maintained. But the incident has still managed to
generate fresh irritation and fear in America over the growing flood
of potent Canadian pot into the U.S.

As if the two countries needed another irritant, the murders have only
underlined concern among officials and politicians here that Canada's
relatively lax treatment of grow-op criminals is fuelling the influx
of drugs.

There are calls for more agents at the northern frontier, and
parallels drawn between Canada and what has traditionally been
considered a much more lawless neighbour -- Mexico. The fears were
embodied in the headline for a recent front-page New York Times
article: Violent New Front in Drug War opens on the Canadian Border.

The problem is especially bad in British Columbia, which is showing
early signs of becoming a "narco-province" along the lines of some
South American countries, charged Representative Mark Soude of
Indiana, chair of the congressional sub-committee on criminal justice,
drug policy and human resources.

"They seem to be in a state of denial about (the fact) they have
become a huge exporter of this really lethal form of marijuana," he
said in an interview. "It's close to getting out of hand ... I feel
sorry if four police officers died because of the mistakes of
politicians."

He acknowledged that the pot is being traded for cocaine and guns from
the U.S., but said the marijuana business is fuelling that exchange.

"We've tended to view Canada as our front door. And we've certainly
come to the point where we don't feel that we can leave the front door
unlocked anymore," said Chris Sands, an expert on Canada at the Centre
for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.