OTTAWA TO ROLL OUT POT BILL IN NEW YEAR

OTTAWA -- Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said Monday 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.

Solicitor General Wayne Easter says that he is taking no public position on
whether pot should be decriminalized. Rather, he will go along with
whatever Cauchon decides to do.

The Canadian Police Association is strongly opposed to taking possession
off of the criminal record books and the organization wants Easter to take
a more aggressive stand.

Cauchon has said that the current system, in which police in some provinces
lay charges while others do not, might not be working as it should.