LAW DECRIMINALIZING POT IN CANADA COULD COME EARLY IN NEW YEAR

(AP) -- OTTAWA -- The Canadian government may introduce legislation
early in the new year to decriminalize the use of marijuana, says
Justice Minister Martin Cauchon.

"If we're talking about that question of decriminalizing marijuana, we
may move ahead quickly as a government," he said Monday outside the
House of Commons.

"I don't like to give you a date or a time frame, but let's say the
beginning of next year, the four first months of next year."

Cauchon said the long-awaited bill would depend partly on the views of
a special Commons committee that studied the use of non-medical drugs.

The committee released the first of two reports Monday, recommending
that heroin addicts in major cities should have safe-injection sites
and needle-exchange programs. It also said two prisons should be
converted into treatment centers for inmates.

A second report is due Thursday. That report is expected to recommend
that growing pot for personal use should not be a crime.

Sources familiar with the work of the committee said the move to
decriminalize marijuana would still make the possession of pot
illegal, but the punishment would be a fine rather than a criminal
record.