OTTAWA PRESSES FOR SOFTER POT LAWS

OTTAWA -- Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said Monday that he intends
to press ahead early next year with legislation to decriminalize
marijuana so that people caught with small amounts won't face a
criminal record.

"If we talk about the question of decriminalizing marijuana, we may move
ahead quickly as a government," Cauchon said outside the House of Commons.
"I don't like to give you a date, but let's say the beginning of next year.
Give me the four first months of next year."

After contemplating the prospect for months, the comments Monday were the
first indication that Cauchon has made a final decision.

However, the minister stressed that, formally, he is still awaiting a
final recommendation from a House of Commons committee on drug use.

The committee will tell the minister on Thursday that possession of
small amounts of marijuana should be decriminalized.

"I don't think I've ever really hidden my position," said Cauchon, 40, who
has confessed to smoking pot in his youth.

"I think most Canadians know where I stand but I'm part of a
Parliamentary process that I must respect."

The committee will recommend that Canadians caught with less than 30
grams of pot -- roughly the amount that fits in a small sandwich bag
- -- should be given a fine akin to a parking ticket rather than be
criminally charged, sources have told Global TV's news program, Global
National. Currently in the Criminal Code, a person caught with small
amounts of marijuana can be jailed for up to six months and receive a fine
of $1,000.

The committee's recommendation is more conservative than one made in
August by a Senate committee, which said marijuana should be outright
legalized.

Cauchon has rejected legalization, saying that society still believes that
the possession of the drug should carry some sort of penalty.

He has not revealed where he will draw the line between criminal and
non-criminal behaviour, but he has said that trafficking will remain a
serious criminal offence.