CANADA PROPOSES CHANGE TO POT LAWS

Some Possession May Be Decriminalized

TORONTO - The Canadian government introduced legislation Tuesday to
decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana but set
stricter penalties for those apprehended for trafficking in the drug.

After more than a year of internal debate on how to change marijuana
laws, the legislation marked a compromise between those in the Cabinet
who see the drug as a minor nuisance and those who fear that anything
approaching legalization would increase use by young people.

The Bush administration has been vocal in cautioning Canada that
Washington would be forced to increase time-consuming border searches
if decriminalization of marijuana is enacted. U.S. officials say
decriminalization would increase supplies and trafficking.

Canadian officials argued Tuesday that the legislation would modernize
law enforcement approaches to a drug whose use is often overlooked by
the local police.

"I want to be clear from the beginning: We are not legalizing
marijuana and have no plans to do so," Justice Minister Martin
Cauchon said. "What we are changing is the way we prosecute certain
offenses of possessions. We are introducing alternative
penalties."

Under the legislation, possession of as much as 15 grams -- about 20
cigarettes -- would be an offense punishable by a fine of up to $180
for youths and $290 for adults. But maximum sentences for illicit
growers would increase, and the government would spend about $150
million on an educational campaign to persuade young people not to use
drugs. Fines for possession would increase for intoxicated drivers.

It appears probable but not certain that the legislation will be
enacted by the House of Commons within the next few months. Prime
Minister Jean Chretien has come out strongly for decriminalization,
and so have the three candidates running to succeed him for the
leadership of the governing Liberal Party.

But several Liberal lawmakers have spoken against the legislation,
complaining it does not set tough minimum sentences for growers and
traffickers and sends the wrong signal to youth.

"We're removing the stigma attached to the product and sanctioning or
tolerating its use as produced by major elements of organized crime
throughout Canada," the Liberal member of Parliament from Ontario,
Dan McTeague, complained in an interview.

McTeague said U.S. Customs has reported an increase in seizures of
Canadian marijuana at the border. He said seizures of 814 pounds of
marijuana in 1998 increased to 2,650 in 2001 and to 20,893 last year.
The 2002 increase is in part related to increased surveillance after
the Sept. 11 attacks.

In Canada, growing and trafficking in marijuana are major businesses,
run by biker gangs and Asian organized crime. It is estimated to be
the third-largest crop in Ontario and British Columbia.

Recent polls show that most Canadians believe that youths caught
possessing small amounts of marijuana should not be penalized with a
lasting criminal record.