U.S. BRINGS ANTI-POT MESSAGE TO OTTAWA

A leading U.S. anti-drug campaigner is expected to warn Canadian
officials Tuesday that marijuana decriminalization could be viewed as
a threat that, in the post-Sept. 11 world, might provoke stricter
border controls.

Barry Crane, deputy director for supply reduction at the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), is in Ottawa Tuesday
for meetings with federal government officials. He is the latest of a
series of high-level representatives to criticize Canadian efforts to
change course in the struggle against drug use.

"Any time we look at potentials for liberalizing or decriminalizing
drugs, whether it be north of our border or south of our border, we're
going to be concerned about increased trafficking," Jennifer de
Vallance, a spokeswoman at the ONDCP, told globeandmail com from Washington.

"Clearly any threat to the United States or any potential for an
increase amount of marijuana trafficking into the United States will
force U.S. officials to take a look at the protective measures they
have on the border and if and how they have to increase those measures."

The gradual trend toward marijuana decriminalization in Canada has
caused an increasingly agitated response from Washington, even as
Ottawa has tried to soothe their fears.

Mr. Crane's boss - "Drug Czar" John Walters - said in December that
Canada is "a dangerous staging area for some of the most potent and
dangerous marijuana" and that people with no sense of how strong
modern marijuana is "seem to be living with the view of the
'reefer-madness' seventies."

In response, Canadian Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has noted that
some countries have decriminalized marijuana already, with none of the
apocalyptic effects that Washington anticipates.

"We recognize that Canada's a sovereign nation, and we do not wish to
interfere with any particular piece of legislation," Ms. de Vallance
said Tuesday. "Our concerns are U.S. drug use and, specifically,
trafficking into the United States of high-grade marijuana."

Polls show Canadian support for decriminalization as high as 2 to 1,
although many people also worry about the possible economic effects of
angering the country's biggest trading partner.

"That is a major concern," Ms. de Vallance said. "Nobody wants to slow
down commerce or tourism between the two nations.

"But those concerns do need to be balanced out against the threat of
increased drug trafficking into the United States," she said.
"Director Walters, as a member of [U.S. President George W. Bush's]
cabinet, is working with his colleagues and evaluating the threat. Dr.
Crane is there to talk to his colleagues in the Canadian government to
ensure that any decisions that are made are thoughtfully made and have
considered all the implications, both economically and as far as
national security goes."