U.S. FEAR OF LIBERALIZED POT LAWS UNWARRENTED, ARGUES ISLANDER

Americans must be smoking their own if they think liberalization of Canadian
marijuana laws will result in a flood of Canadian bud crossing the border,
says the founder of the Compassion Club of Vancouver Island.

"It's estimated that Canada produces two per cent of the cannabis that gets
into the U.S.," Philippe Lucas said Monday. "By comparison, Mexico produces
46 per cent. We're small potatoes no matter how you count it and, of course,
the U.S. is a bigger drug exporting nation than a drug importing nation if
you look at hard drugs like cocaine, heroin and metaphetamines.

"So we should be more concerned about tightening our borders than they are."

Lucas was responding to U.S. officials who are warning that
decriminalization of marijuana, as proposed by the Chretien Liberals, will
be political folly.

Compassion clubs are non-profit medical marijuana buying clubs founded to
provide the critically ill alternatives to underground drug dealers.

Last week David Murray, special assistant in the U.S. Office of National
Drug Control Policy, warned Canada is at a "critical juncture" and suggested
U.S. authorities would have to take action "to prevent the flow of illicit
substances" into the U.S. from Canada.

Officials in Bellingham, Wash., are already complaining their court system
is being strained by a string of border pot busts.

Lucas termed Murray's statements "mostly chest beating."

"We've been told that our borders have already been tightened up anyway to
prevent terrorism. Are they now telling us they're going to tighten them
more for the bigger threat of cannabis? That to me seems a little bit of a
policy shift."

He said several state laws now fly in the face of the U.S. national policy
and he cited a recent trip to Oakland, Calif., as an example.

"I went to a (compassion) club that serves 15,000 people and sold $60,000
worth of cannabis every day and on this same strip there were four other
clubs as well. In California alone, there are 30,000 people who are using
marijuana medically on a state-wide legal basis whereas in Canada, here,
where we're doing it on a federal basis, we've got less than 1,000 users.

"So in a lot of ways the U.S. is being more progressive at the state level
than we are."

Canada is looking at decriminalization, not legalization. Possession of a
small amount of pot could result in a fine but not a criminal record.

Lucas gives decriminalization -- as proposed federally -- only "lukewarm
support" saying Ottawa is looking at a system of high fines to replace
criminal charges.

A similar system in Australia resulted in a 45 per cent rate of non-payment
of fines and more people being jailed for non-payment than were ever jailed
for possession.

"I don't think it's going to have a very positive effect on Canadian
cannabis users or otherwise," he said.

Lucas will be making a presentation next week to Heath Canada's office of
Cannabis Medical Access Advisory Committee -- an advisory committee guiding
medical marijuana policy in Canada.

"We have some pretty serious concerns. The first is that it's become almost
impossible for people to take part in the program because it's just far too
onerous.

"The second is with the $10 million spent so far in 31/2 years of this
program's existence, there's never been a single gram or seed or joint
supplied to a single Canadian. So we're certainly going to talk about making
the hemp that is being grown by the Canadian government by Prairie Plant
Systems more available."