MORE CANADIANS ADMIT POT USE, STUDY FINDS

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - The number of Canadians who
admit they have used marijuana or hashish has nearly doubled over 13
years, according to a government study released on Wednesday.

About 12.2 percent of Canadians over the age of 15 surveyed said they
used pot at least once in a 12-month period in 2002, up from 6.5
percent in a 1989 study, and 7.4 percent in a 1994 survey, Statistics
Canada said.

Prime Minister Paul Martin told reporters in Ottawa that, despite the
report's findings, he still planned to introduce legislation to
decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The decriminalization plan has drawn fire from U.S. anti-drug
officials who complain that Canada is too lax on drug use and has
become a major source of the illegal marijuana being smuggled into the
United States.

Researcher Michael Tjepkema said the increase may reflect a
willingness of people to talk more openly about drug use, but the
findings are in line with those of other studies that showed pot
smoking was on the increase.

More than 41 percent of Canadians admit having used cannabis at least
once in their lifetime. Of those who admitted using it in 2002, 47.3
percent said they did so less than once a month but nearly 10 percent
got high once a day.

Marijuana use was highest in British Columbia and Quebec.

A study last month estimated that British Columbia's illegal marijuana
growers produce a crop with a street value of more than C$7 billion
($5.3 billion) annually, with much of the potent "B.C. Bud" destined
for export to the United States.