CHAREST: DON'T LEGALIZE WEED

ST-AUGUSTIN-DE-DESMAURES, Que. (CP) - Some members of the Quebec
Liberal party's youth wing are calling for the de-criminalization of
marijuana, even though party leader Jean Charest is vehemently
opposed to the idea.

"All we want is for the consumption of marijuana to be
de-criminalized," said Antoine Aylwin, the author of a resolution to
be debated this weekend at the Quebec Liberal youth wing's annual
meeting in this Quebec City suburb.

The resolution calls for the legalization of marijuana for "use in
private places only by people 18 years of age and older."

"There are harder drugs, like (tobacco) cigarettes, that are legal
and we don't do anything about them. It's totally contradictory,"
said Aylwin. "We are allowing (marijuana use) for therapeutic ends,
we recognize it has some benefits. It is totally irresponsible to
allow criminal gangs to continue controlling this market."

Charest has said he is in favour of medicinal marijuana use, but that
is all. He said that going further would be imprudent.

Yesterday, Charest said that "we would be better prepared to have the
debate on the legalization of marijuana" after seeing the initial
step of medicinal marijuana all the way through.

The stance taken by Charest - who was once leader of the Progressive
Conservatives - is in stark contrast to that of the current leader of
that party, Joe Clark.

Clark gave his support to the de-criminalization of marijuana
possession last May, citing the harshness of the law on Canada's
youth.