U.S. POT FOES FUME AT CANADA

TORONTO - Getting caught with an ounce or less of marijuana in Canada
should bring fines, not prison time and a criminal record, a parliamentary
committee said Thursday.The committee was the second in Parliament that has
called for the nation to ease its marijuana laws - despite protests from
the United States.

Canada's Supreme Court also is preparing to hear a constitutional challenge
to laws that make it illegal to possess pot, and Justice Minister Martin
Cauchon said this week that legislation to decriminalize marijuana could be
introduced early in 2003.

The report by a House of Commons committee on drugs said too many young
Canadians get a criminal record for the relatively minor offense of smoking
pot.

Rather than legalizing marijuana, as recommended by a Senate committee
earlier this year, the House panel proposed a fine or other sanction
instead of the maximum six-month jail term for possession.

The report also differed from the Senate committee by not calling for an
amnesty for the estimated 600,000 Canadians with a criminal record for
possession of cannabis.

It proposes government education and prevention programs for young people,
naming a drug commissioner to report on national drug strategy, and more
money each year for the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse.

American officials oppose the push toward greater leniency.

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

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

While he didn't think the new laws would "destroy" relations between the
historically friendly neighbors, Walters said the United States would be
forced to combat the increased flow of drugs.

"My theory is it's going to cause unnecessary harm to our citizens and our
children on both sides of our borders," he said.

The Canadian Supreme Court is hearing a constitutional challenge to
marijuana laws today. The basic argument is that people shouldn't be
imprisoned for something that isn't harmful.

Walters said it's a myth that marijuana isn't harmful, saying 60 percent of
drug-dependent Americans are hooked on it.

"For people who try to tell Americans marijuana is not something we have to
pay attention to - it's a lie," he said.