U.S. THREATENS MORE BORDER SEARCHES IF CANADA CHANGES MARIJUANA LAWS

Washington.-.U.S. officials, already concerned about an increased flow of
drugs from Canada, are warning that a Canadian plan to decriminalize
marijuana use could lead to stepped-up inspections and long border delays.

"We don't want the northern border to be a trafficking route for drugs,"
said Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security
for the Department of Homeland Security. "If countries have divergent
policies on drugs, then that increases the potential of the borders becoming
a trafficking route."

If Canada approves a plan to decriminalize marijuana for personal use, U.S.
officials fear drug smuggling could spike, further burdening the justice
system and hindering trade. More vehicles might be stopped and searched at
checkpoints along the 4,000-mile border, slowing movement of the $1 billion
worth of goods traded between the two countries each day.

"If the perception is that it's easier to get marijuana in, then some border
officials' antennas will be up," said Paul Cellucci, U.S. ambassador to
Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien's administration introduced
legislation in late May that would essentially make possession of small
amounts of pot equivalent to a traffic ticket. The bill also would boost
penalties for growing and trafficking marijuana.

At Blaine

The Canadian proposal "is amazing to us," said Dave McEachran, prosecuting
attorney in Whatcom County. McEachran's office prosecutes hundreds of
federal drug cases a year resulting from arrests at the Blaine border -- the
busiest crossing west of Detroit.

Canadian officials call U.S. concerns understandable, but say the two
nations have a long history of cooperation.

"Probably the closest collaboration in the world the U.S. has is with
Canada," said Paul Kennedy, Canada's senior assistant deputy solicitor
general.

The cooperation is especially close on law enforcement issues, Kennedy said,
noting that drug trade at the border flows both ways. While marijuana enters
the U.S., cocaine and guns tend to travel north.

A joint U.S.-Canada program, called Integrated Border Enforcement Patrol,
has teamed hundreds of law enforcement officials from the two countries and
become a model for international cooperation, officials on both sides of the
border say.

While the decriminalization plan has set off alarms, the flow of pot from
Canada pales in comparison to the amount grown domestically or imported from
other countries such as Mexico and Colombia. In the fiscal year that ended
Sept. 30, 2002, a total of 20,213 pounds of marijuana was seized along the
northern border, compared to more than 1.2 million pounds seized along the
southwest border, customs figures show.

Kennedy objected to the widely used term "decriminalization," saying it
suggests that Canada encourages drug use.

"Let's lay a myth to rest," he said. "Decriminalization doesn't mean
legalization."