PM READY TO CONSIDER CHANGE IN POT LAWS

OTTAWA -- After appearing hesitant before Christmas, Prime Minister Jean
Chretien is now ready to move quickly to decriminalize possession of marijuana.

"The PM is strong on this," said a spokesman from the Prime Minister's Office.

"The government is determined to address this issue."

The spokesman, who did not want to be named, denied that Chretien has
changed his mind since he said in an interview with Global TV last month
that there would have to be a full debate on the issue and that the
government would make a decision "one day."

"I don't think he has ever had a change of heart," said the spokesman. "I
just think that he really wanted to make sure that before legislation is
introduced, that caucus and cabinet and everybody who is involved in this
have their opinions expressed before moving ahead."

In the Christmas interview, Chretien, who turns 69 today, went out of his
way to say that he has never tried marijuana and that he does not even know
what it smells like.

In an offensive move to show that Chretien and Justice Minister Martin
Cauchon are in sync, the Prime Minister's Office supplied transcripts
Friday of a justice committee hearing in 1980, when Chretien, who was then
justice minister, said that he supported decriminalization of small amounts
of marijuana so that young people "will not have a stigma for the rest of
their lives."

But he stressed at the time that he did not think the government should
legalize marijuana, so that people caught with pot would receive no penalty
at all.

But decades of failed government promises has sparked criticism from
marijuana enthusiasts who say they are skeptical that the law will ever change.

Cauchon, 40, has confessed to smoking marijuana in his youth and he has
made no secret of his belief that people caught with less than 30 grams --
about 25 or 30 cigarettes -- should be fined rather than criminally charged.

He is currently in Europe, where marijuana decriminalization is on the
agenda in France, England and Germany.

Cauchon says he intends to introduce legislation in the next couple of months.

Skeptics have suggested that Cauchon's plans will never come to fruition
before Chretien's retirement.

A recent poll conducted for Southam News showed that Canadians are evenly
divided on whether marijuana should be decriminalized.