HEALTH MINISTER WANTS FULL DRUG STRATEGY

EDMONTON -- Federal Health Minister Anne McLellan says she supports
decriminalizing marijuana possession if the move is accompanied by a new
national drug strategy of education, information and treatment.

"Nobody should be under any illusions that it's healthy to smoke
marijuana," McLellan said on the weekend. "It isn't."

The federal government is expected to unveil legislation this week aimed at
decriminalizing possession of marijuana in amounts below 15 grams. The
proposals would also include a new strategy designed by Health Canada to
discourage the use of drugs.

"I think you have the support system you have to have in place to make sure
people don't misinterpret what you're doing on the decriminalization side,"
McLellan said.

"I focus on the health elements of this, and the national drug strategy --
education, information, treatment, and making sure young people and their
families understand that this in no way sends a message that marijuana is a
good thing, and that smoking marijuana is a good thing."

Ottawa is still conducting clinical trials to determine whether or not
marijuana has medicinal benefits, McLellan said.

"But we know that smoking the stuff is not a healthy thing."

McLellan said American concerns about cross-border trafficking of Canadian
marijuana must be heeded.

"The United States has every right to be upset that we've got so many of
these illegal grow ops in places like the interior of British Columbia,"
she said. "Some of this stuff from B.C. is now ending up in the streets of
Mexico City. That is simply unacceptable."