CANUCK POT: 'CRACK OF MARIJUANA'

DETROIT -- The U.S. is being flooded with dangerously potent marijuana from
Canada and the problem will increase if Ottawa decriminalizes the drug, the
U.S. drug czar said yesterday. While pot possession would remain illegal
under proposed Canadian legislation, people found with up to 15 grams would
receive a citation similar to a traffic ticket, which would carry a fine of
$100 to $400.

John Walters of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy said some
Canadian traffickers grow marijuana that has up to 30% THC, the psychoactive
chemical in pot.

"The kind of marijuana coming from Canada is essentially the crack of
marijuana," he said. "It is dangerous. It is destructive."

Walters said a multibillion-dollar industry in Canada produces and
distributes drugs to the U.S.

"The problem is the political leadership in Canada has been utterly unable
to come to grips with this," he said. "They're talking about legalization
while Rome burns."

Solicitor General Wayne Easter plays down such fears.

"We do have the sovereign right to make our own laws. And there is a
recognition that the current laws are not working," Easter said earlier this
year.