JUSTICE MINISTER READY TO TALK POT

McLellan leaves open the possibility of decriminalization

OTTAWA - Justice Minister Anne McLellan says she's willing to consider the
possibility of decriminalizing marijuana following a court decision striking
down Canada's possession law.

``I think we do have to be concerned about the best use of our law
enforcement resources, and the best use of our judicial resources and court
facilities,'' McLellan said yesterday.

``Is the best use in pursuing possession charges for small amounts of soft
drugs?'' she said. ``That's a legitimate question that one needs to fully
comprehend and talk to a lot of people about.''

The minister added, however, there are also arguments that relaxing
prohibitions on pot might result in more criminal activity.

``I'm open to discussion, but nobody should assume that after that
discussion I would go in one direction or the other,'' she told The Star in
an interview.

Earlier this week, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled the current law barring
marijuana possession is unconstitutional because it doesn't take into
account people who smoke the drug for medicinal purposes.

The court gave the federal government one year to amend the legislation. If
Ottawa doesn't act, the possession law will be struck down altogether. The
government still hasn't decided whether it will appeal.

McLellan said she's open to hearing arguments about the possibility of
removing simple possession of marijuana and similar drugs, such as hashish,
from the Criminal Code.

Instead, possession of small amounts of those drugs would be treated as a
lesser offence - similar to a ticketing offence such as speeding.

But McLellan also said decriminalization is a complex issue, noting that
while Canada's police chiefs support such a move, a grassroots police group
is adamantly opposed.

``If you're going to change the law, we need to be very careful that we are
not creating unintentional effects,'' she said.

Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton has called on Ottawa to decriminalize
simple possession, freeing police to fight more serious crime.