CANADA TO DECRIMINALIZE SOME USE OF MARIJUANA

OTTAWA -- Angering U.S. officials, the Canadian government Wednesday
unveiled in Parliament new legislation that decriminalizes the personal use
of small amounts of marijuana, making possession of the drug a noncriminal
offense punishable with a ticket and fine, similar to those issued for
traffic infractions.

Calling the ticket and fine approach "alternative penalties," Canada's
justice minister, Martin Cauchon, said drug use "is still harmful" and
emphasized that "zero use of marijuana" remains the government's goal.
However, Mr. Cauchon said previous efforts to combat drug use have failed.
He noted that an estimated 100,000 Canadians use marijuana daily.

Mr. Cauchon said the government plans to pass the marijuana legislation
into law by year end.

U.S. government and law-enforcement officials in recent months have
expressed outrage with Canada's plans to relax marijuana laws. U.S. drug
czar John Walters has said looser drug laws in Canada could result in
tighter security along the U.S. border. Exact figures are hard to come by,
but some police groups estimate 10 billion Canadian dollars (US$7.28
billion) a year of illegal drugs , mostly marijuana, enters the U.S. from
Canada. According to Canadian government officials, Canada is the
third-largest marijuana supplier to the U.S., after Mexico and Columbia.
U.S.-Canada relations are already under strain due to a series of
contentious trade disputes.