POT MINDSET CHANGES NORTH OF THE BORDER

Canada Heads Toward Making Minor Possession Of Marijuana Akin To A Traffic
Ticket. U.S. Officials Take A Dim View Of The Idea.

TORONTO - Canada proposed a new marijuana law Tuesday that would eliminate a
criminal record for possession of small amounts while spending millions to
spread an anticannabis message.

U.S. officials have warned the move could lead to tighter border security to
prevent more Canadian-grown marijuana from entering the country.

Under the measure that the government introduced in Parliament, getting
caught with 15 grams - about half an ounce - or less of marijuana would
bring a citation akin to a traffic ticket, not a criminal record.

While possession of marijuana would remain illegal, the bill is intended to
prevent young people from getting saddled with a lifelong criminal record.

Those under 18 years old could face fines of up to $182 for minor possession
while adults could be fined the equivalent of $292.

At the same time, the maximum sentence for illegal growers would be
increased to 14 years in prison from the current seven, while trafficking
would remain punishable by up to life in prison.

Those caught with 15 to 30 grams could be charged with criminal possession
or simply ticketed, according to the discretion of the arresting officer.
Possession of more than 30 grams would remain a criminal offense.

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said the law includes an education, research
and treatment program aimed at persuading young people not to use illegal
drugs. The government intends to spend $179-million on the program.

"The bottom line of this proposal is to create the most effective way to
deal with the drug problem through a number of ways," Cauchon said.

Two Parliament committees have recommended easing Canadian marijuana laws,
and Prime Minister Jean Chretien made the proposal a priority of his last
year in office.

He has said he will step down in February after more than 10 years as head
of government, and the three candidates running to succeed him for the
leadership of the governing Liberal Party, which has a commanding majority
in Parliament, also back decriminalization.

Several backbench Liberal lawmakers have spoken out against the legislation,
however, complaining that the legislation does not set tough minimum
sentences for growers and traffickers and sends the wrong signal to youth.

Liberalizing laws will boost drug use and bring more marijuana into the
United States, said John Walters, director of the U.S. Office of National
Drug Control Policy.

Canada is already a major source of marijuana for the United States, with an
estimated $2.5-billion worth smuggled in each year, Walters said.

Cauchon traveled to Washington this month to discuss the Canadian proposal
with Attorney General John Ashcroft.

U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci this month hinted that northern border checks
will become more stringent - resulting in travel delays and huge added costs
to Canadian exporters - if the country loosens its marijuana laws.

Walters stopped short of threatening a border crackdown if Canada passes the
bill but pointedly noted that such countries as Mexico and Colombia support
eradication of marijuana crops while "Canada seems to be going in another
direction."

Cultivating and trafficking marijuana are major businesses in Canada, run by
biker gangs and Asian organized crime.

Pressure to reform the marijuana laws has been building for some time
because of the drug's common use in several provinces, a string of lower
court rulings and a constitutional challenge in the Supreme Court to
legalize the drug. Recent polls show that most Canadians believe that youths
caught possessing small amounts of marijuana should not be penalized with a
lasting criminal record.

Possession of small amounts of marijuana has been effectively decriminalized
in several European countries, including the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal,
Italy, Luxembourg and Belgium. Britain has moved to do the same.

Eleven U.S. states have taken some kind of step toward permitting the
medicinal use of marijuana. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has ruled there
is no exception in federal law for people to use marijuana, so even those
with tolerant state laws could face arrest if they do.

Information from the New York Times and Boston Globe was used in this
report.