ALLIANCE DUMPS LEGALIZING POT REFERENCE

OTTAWA (CP) -- The Canadian Alliance has backed away from its stand on
legalizing marijuana for medicinal use and abandoning jail sentences for
simple possession.

Last week, the Alliance Web site suggested the party would not punish simple
possession of small amounts of cannabis with jail terms and would "allow its
use for serious medicinal reasons."

"We will remove the threat of jail terms for simple possession of small
amounts of cannabis, and allow its use for serious medicinal reasons," the
section read.

Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day talks to reporters on a subway car in
Montreal Wednesday October 11, 2000. Day picked up seven candidates for the
Montreal region -- one at each stop along the metro line.

But a glossy colour policy brochure unveiled last Thursday by Alliance
Leader Stockwell Day omits the paragraph pertaining to pot.

"We've got some serious flip-flops happening here," said NDP MP Nelson Riis.

Riis said the omission puts into context the Alliance campaign platform,
called A Time for Change.

"They've changed their tax strategy, they've now changed their marijuana
strategy going into the campaign and I guess perhaps on a weekly basis we'll
be hearing new changes to their election platform."

Party spokesman Phil von Finckenstein said Wednesday the reference was
removed because the Alliance doesn't want to campaign on the issue.

"Mr. Day has personal beliefs but at the end of the day, we're a team and we
got together and decided this as a team and this is the platform we're
putting forward," von Finckenstein said.

"Caucus was considering a number of issues to go into the platform -- one of
them was whether or not to withdraw jail sentences for possession of small
amounts of marijuana," he said.

"The possession of small amounts of marijuana would remain a criminal
offence.

"After a healthy debate in caucus it was decided that this wasn't a priority
of Canadians right now and that we wouldn't be campaigning on that."

But Riis argues it's further proof the Alliance is afraid of controversy.

He pointed to the Alliance policy document, which said an Alliance
government wouldn't be able to deliver on its promise of a 17 per cent flat
tax until a second term in office.

"We're going to have a mushy Canadian Alliance platform by the time they
pull all these controversial elements," said Riis whose party wants to
decriminalize marijuana for medicinal purposes only. Alliance justice critic
Randy White was travelling in Italy and unavailable for comment.