U.S. DRUG CZAR SAYS CANADIANS ASHAMED OF PM

'A Joint In Other Hand': Joking About Trying Marijuana Not Funny,
John Walters Says

WASHINGTON - The White House's drug czar lashed out yesterday at Jean
Chretien for relaxing marijuana laws and said Canadians are "ashamed"
at the Prime Minister's recent jokes about smoking pot when he retires.

John Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy Office, said
Mr. Chretien was being irresponsible when he said last week that he
might try marijuana when he leaves office next February.

Canadians "are concerned about the behaviour of their Prime Minister,
joking that he is going to use marijuana in his retirement," Mr.
Walters told the Center for Strategic and International Studies in
Washington.

"They're ashamed."

Canada is "the one place in the hemisphere where things are going the
wrong [way] rapidly," he added. "It's the only country in this
hemisphere that's become a major drug producer instead of reducing
their drug production."

Martin Cauchon, the Justice Minister, who is shepherding the federal
government's marijuana legislation through the House of Commons,
responded that Mr. Walters should "look in his own backyard" before
criticizing Mr. Chretien.

"There are over 10 states that have in place what we call alternative
penalties, so you know, if it is not correct to move in that
direction, maybe he should spend some time talking to his own states,"
Mr. Cauchon said.

Mr. Walters's outburst followed an effort by the Prime Minister to
make light of his government's controversial decriminalization
legislation.

During an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press, Mr. Chretien said he
had never tested marijuana, but might once decriminalization
legislation is approved by Parliament.

"I don't know what is marijuana. Perhaps I will try it when it will no
longer be criminal," he said. "I will have money for my fine and a
joint in the other hand."

Jim Munson, Chretien's director of communications, declined to comment
on Mr. Walters's claim that Canadians are ashamed of their leader.

"I am not going to get into those kind of comments. I mean, they have
their point of view, and we have our point of view," Mr. Munson said.

The Prime Minister, while joking about his own lack of personal
experience with marijuana, also spoke about the need to crack down on
growers and dealers of pot, Mr. Munson said.

"There was laughing, but he was very serious about where this country
stood on drug pushers and on growers, and that this bill will reflect
that," he said. "But it will also reflect the reality that a young
person with a small amount would have a fine and not face a criminal
record."

The marijuana bill was handed yesterday to a special parliamentary
committee, instead of the busy Commons justice committee, which would
not be able to hold public hearings on the controversial legislation
until after Christmas.

Randy White, a Canadian Alliance MP on the special committee, said
that members do not intend to rush the bill. The Americans will be
among the witnesses who will be invited to the hearings.

"We don't need any particular approval from Americans to do this, but
we have to understand that this is a touchy issue on the borders," Mr.
White said during a debate on the bill in the Commons.

"We will be inviting the Americans here to talk to us and we want to
see what their point of view is. There is little point in developing a
process in this country when we offend everybody south of us."

The marijuana bill proposes to decriminalize possession of 15 grams or
less, so that people would be fined from $100 to $400 instead of
receiving criminal records. But it also seeks to strengthen penalties
against marijuana grow operations.

The federal government, which is under intense pressure to toughen its
bill, is seriously considering several amendments. They are:

- - lowering the amount of pot that would escape criminal charges to 10
grams from the current proposal of 15;

- - imposing criminal sanctions instead of fines on people who are
repeatedly caught with pot;

- - adding a minimum mandatory sentence for people convicted of running
marijuana grow operations. The current bill proposes doubling the
maximum penalties, but critics say this is useless because judges
seldom impose the top sentence.

The Bush administration has been vocal in its opposition to Ottawa's
plans for months.

Mr. Walters, the White House's point man in the U.S. war on drugs,
delivered his blunt critique on Canada as part of a broader criticism
of lax drugs policies in places like Europe.

Last month, he blasted Canada's court system for being too lax in
prosecuting marijuana producers, saying "the Canadian system has
developed the practice of not sentencing people to anything
approaching serious time unless they commit a violent crime."

He added: "You can set up grows, you can ship drugs, you can be caught
and very little happens to you.