CHRETIEN MAY TRY POT ONCE IT IS DECRIMINALIZED

WINNIPEG -- Prime Minister Jean Chretien says he doesn't know what it's like to
smoke pot, but he may be willing to find out once it's no longer a criminal
offence.

Chretien, 69, joked about trying marijuana in an Ottawa interview with the
Winnipeg Free Press published in Friday's paper.

On the eve of his last visit to the Manitoba capital as prime minister,
Chretien was asked how it felt to have bills to decriminalize marijuana and
legalize same-sex marriages as the exclamation points to his political career.

"The decriminalization of marijuana is making normal what is the practice,"
replied Chretien. "It is still illegal, but do you think Canadians want their
kids, 18 years-old or 17, who smoke marijuana once and get caught by the
police, to have a criminal record for the rest of their life?

"I don't know what is marijuana. Perhaps I will try it when it will no longer
be criminal. I will have my money for my fine and a joint in the other hand."