RECORD NUMBER OF CHARGES REPORTED AS OTTAWA MOVES TO LOOSEN POT LAWS

OTTAWA (CP) - The federal government's plan to decriminalize pot possession
would free up millions of dollars and thousands of police hours, the latest
statistics suggest.

Police laid a record number of drug-related charges in 2002 and most
offences involved marijuana, Statistics Canada reported Monday.

Seventy-five per cent of 93,000 drug-related incidents in 2002 involved
pot. Almost three-quarters of those were possession offences, and more than
half of those convicted were fined.

"The police-reported drug-crime rate has risen an estimated 42 per cent
since the early 1990s and now stands at a 20-year high," the agency said.

The numbers highlight a rift between police, who support tight enforcement
of pot laws, and more tolerant attitudes by the public, politicians and the
courts.

The statistics were released as MPs on Parliament Hill began to debate a
bill to decriminalize possession of less than 15 grams of pot - about 15 to
20 joints. Instead of a criminal record, the bill proposes fines of between
$100 to $400.

The bill maintains or increases penalties for large-scale growers and
traffickers.

If passed, the bill would appear to free up police from laying most
possession charges.

Critics have long argued that officers could divert investigative hours and
millions of dollars toward fighting other crime if they eased up on such
anti-drug efforts.

Law professor Alan Young, who has crusaded for reformed marijuana laws,
says at least some police forces seem to be "upping the ante" with vigilant
anti-pot enforcement that swims against the political tide.

"The entire time that this government has been talking about
decriminalization . . . the police have not adjusted their priorities in
the least."

If anything, police have logged numbers "that are good for them to
manipulate," he said.

The Canadian Professional Police Association, representing 54,000
rank-and-file members, declined to comment Monday. It has vigorously fought
attempts to decriminalize pot, saying police should have the discretion to
do more than issue tickets - particularly in cases where sales are being
racked up in school yards, for example.

The rate of drug-related incidents was highest in B.C., followed by
Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

Among metropolitan areas in 2002, the highest rates of police-reported drug
offences were in Thunder Bay, Ont., Vancouver, and Victoria.

Most charges involved young adults aged 18 to 24 followed by youths aged 12
to 17.