CANADA MAY DECRIMINALIZE SMALL-SCALE POT POSSESSION

TORONTO, May 27 -- The Canadian government introduced legislation today to
decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, a move that U.S.
officials said could increase the amount of marijuana smuggled across the
border.

Under the bill, possession of up to 15 grams of marijuana, about half an
ounce, would become punishable by fines of up to the equivalent of about
$290 U.S. for adults and $182 for minors. Backed by Prime Minister Jean
Chretien's ruling Liberal Party, the measure has a good chance of passing
because of the party's strong majority in Parliament, political analysts said.

Chretien is proceeding despite firm opposition from the Bush
administration, which views the measure as encouraging drug use and
creating an environment of permissiveness.

"Some of the strongest and most dangerous marijuana on the U.S. market is
coming from Canada," John P. Walters, director of the White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy, said in a telephone interview today. "That
production has been rapidly expanding and is largely unchecked."

Canadian officials estimate that $4 billion to $7 billion worth of Canadian
marijuana is sold in the United States each year.

The proposed law is also unpopular with some Canadian groups, including
opposition parties and police organizations.

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon, who introduced the bill in Parliament,
said at a news conference in Ottawa, the capital, that most Canadians
prefer that possession of small amounts of the drug become a "ticketing
offense."

"We are not legalizing marijuana. We have no plans to do so. We are
changing the way we prosecute certain offenses," Cauchon said.

"Cannabis consumption is first and foremost a health matter," he continued.
"It should not result in criminal penalties. We have to ask ourselves as a
society: Does it make sense that a person who makes a bad choice can
receive the lasting burden of a criminal record?

Decriminalization, officials said, would be accompanied by a national
campaign to alert Canadians to the dangers of drug use.

In some Canadian cities, notably Vancouver, heroin users shoot up in broad
daylight on street corners littered with needles, and some people openly
smoke marijuana in pot cafes. Some provincial officials have proposed
setting up supervised injection sites where heroin and cocaine users could
receive clean needles and inject themselves.

In 2001, Canada passed a law allowing people with serious illnesses to use
marijuana for medical purposes if they receive government approval.

Earlier this year; the Canadian Senate released a proposal to legalize
marijuana and allow it to be grown by licensed dealers and sold in corner
stores to anyone 16 or older. The proposal was widely criticized in the
United States.

And last month when Chretien announced plans to move ahead with
decriminalization, U.S. officials were taken aback.

Paul Cellucci, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, warned that the border
between the two countries could be tightened as U.S. Customs officials
intensified drug searches. That could harm trade.