CANADA PROMISES TO REVIVE BILL TO DECRIMINALIZE POT POSSESSION

OTTAWA (AP) Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said Thursday his
government will reintroduce legislation to decriminalize simple possession
of marijuana when Parliament sits again in the new year.

Martin indicated that the bill, first brought in under his predecessor Jean
Chretien, could be toughened in committee before it passes.

"I think that one's got to take a look at the fines," Martin said. "I think
that you have to take a look at the quantities, and I think that there has
to be a larger effort against the grow-ops and against those who distribute."

But the prime minister said he agrees with the principle that young people
should not be dogged throughout life by a criminal record if they are
caught in possession of small amounts of pot.

The Supreme Court of Canada is set to rule next week on a challenge to the
current marijuana law in which the key issue is whether criminal penalties,
including jail time, for simple possession violate the Charter of Rights.

Martin's comments signaled that even if the high court upholds the
constitutionality of the present law, his government will still move to
change it.

The United States opposes any plan by Ottawa to decriminalize marijuana
possession in Canada, saying it could inflate already burgeoning
cross-border pot smuggling.

The United States Drug Enforcement Agency estimates smuggling from the
western province of British Columbia alone is worth more than $1 billion a
year.