WE'RE DAZED AND CONFUSED OVER FEDS' POT PLAN: POLL

OTTAWA -- Canadians are confused about what the federal government means
when it talks about the decriminalization of pot, a new poll shows. The
poll of 1,000 Canadians was done by the polling firm SES for Tory MP Randy
White.

The survey was done from Jan. 28-Feb. 2 and is accurate to plus or minus 3
percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

White said he was surprised by the confusion. "The government is doing a
very poor job. If they are moving into decriminalization of marijuana, then
they should spend hundreds of dollars on television, on radio and in
newspapers, explaining this to Canadians," White said.

The survey asked: "The Canadian government has recently moved to
decriminalize the personal possession of marijuana. Do you believe that
decriminalization (a) makes possession legal, (b) leaves possession
illegal, (c) unsure, (d) no answer.

"One out of every two, or 49% of Canadians believe that decriminalizing
marijuana actually makes possession legal," SES president Nik Nanos said
the poll indicates.

Of those surveyed, 41% said they believed decriminalization leaves
possession illegal. With decriminalization, marijuana possession would be
illegal but not a criminal offence, much like, for example, speeding.

The second survey question asked what the minimum age to possess marijuana
should be: 12 years and older; 16 and older; 18 and over; no age; or
"unsure." Respondents chose 18 and more than 77.6% of the time.