CRITICS PAN CHIEFS' POT PLAN

TORONTO --The Canadian police chiefs' proposal to ticket those found with a
little pot instead of charging them with a criminal offence is a step in
the right direction, but not good enough for some people.

"It would be better than what they are doing now -- saddling people with
criminal records," said Jim Wakeford, one of two people in Canada legally
permitted to use marijuana for medicinal purposes.

The resolution, announced by the chiefs this week at the end of the
Canadian Association of Police Chiefs conference in Hamilton, calls for
alternative ways of charging people for possession of small amounts of pot.

And that's not the same as legalizing cannabis, the chiefs emphasize.

"We're against the legalization of all currently illicit drugs," said
Brockville police Chief Barry King. He said the chiefs will be calling on
the federal government to act on establishing alternative methods of justice.

The chiefs believe ticketing those with small amounts of pot will not only
help ease the backlog in the courts, but will offer more flexibility for
the police to recommend rehabilitation, counselling or other alternatives.

Lawyer Alan Young, who frequently defends people charged with the
possession of small amounts of pot, agrees with Wakeford that reducing the
conviction to a summary offence isn't enough.

"It's extremely short-sighted to replace one mode of prohibition with
another," Young said.

"However, I welcome any progressive step, and the ticketing regime is what
has been used in all jurisdictions that have formally decriminalized."