Drugs -

PLAN TO LOOSEN POT LAWS CONCERNS U.S.

DETROIT -- Millions smoke it, yet thousands still get criminal records for
possession.

Former President Bill Clinton said, "I experimented with marijuana a time
or two..."

Canadian Justice Minister Martin Cauchon told the Toronto Sun, "I'm 39
years old. Yes, of course I tried it before. Obviously."

Dalton McGuinty, Ernie Eves and Howard Hampton, all Ontario political
leaders, have admitted to experimenting with marijuana in their youth.

Canada shares a 3,000 mile border with the United States, and Washington
has repeatedly expressed concern about the increasing amount of Canadian
marijuana flowing south across the border.

"I'd hate to think of the number of adults in positions of responsibility
today who, had they been caught experimenting with marijuana and brought
before a judge and received a criminal conviction, would have been
prevented from doing the good work that they're doing now," Ontario Liberal
leader McGuinty told the Sun.

Several people agree, including Jean Chretien, who has recently been
pushing for the decriminalisation of marijuana in small amounts. Chretien
wants criminal penalties to be dropped for people caught with possession of
10 grams or less of marijuana. Instead, a fine, similar to a parking
ticket, would be issued.

Liberal leadership candidate, Paul Martin, agrees with this decision. "I
think the idea of giving a young person a criminal record because they
happened to get caught with a very, very small quantity [of marijuana] once
in their life - I don't think that's what we should be doing."

U.S. police say that Canada has an estimated illegal drug market of $14
billion ($9.7 billion US). Canada has also topped Mexico as a source of
illegal drugs for the United States.

John Walters, U.S. drug czar, said if marijuana laws in Canada are relaxed,
the U.S. may have to increase border security to clamp down on trafficking.
This could be a blow to Canada's economy because more than 85 per cent of
its exports go to the U.S. Ninety per cent of Canadians live within 60
miles of the U.S. border, and about 30 million people make trips through
the Detroit border crossings every year.

According to the Detroit News, the Detroit-Windsor crossing is the top
border crossing after Seattle. U.S. Customs, which has 926 inspectors
working the Canadian border, said agents have seized 19,000 pounds of
marijuana at northern border crossings.

"We have great respect for Canada, and if they start shifting policies with
regards to marijuana it simply increases the rumblings in this country that
we ought to re-examine our policy," Drug Enforcement Administration head
Asa Hutchinson told the Toronto Sun in 2002. "It is a distraction from a
firm policy on drug use."

The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld marijuana as a dangerous drug with a high
potential for abuse. A Sun poll showed that 35 per cent of Canadians
believe that marijuana leads to harder drugs.

Some groups argue that marijuana should be fully legalised, while others
say it should just be decriminalised. Some say marijuana should only be
allowed for medical use.

Canada is the only country in the world that has legalised marijuana for
medical use, though several other countries have already allowed or are
considering allowing some form of access to marijuana for medical purposes.

Vice president of the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws Amber Langston said, "I don't think people should go to jail for
something that is not harmful."

In the United States, several states have enacted legislation that say
patients who suffer from certain serious or debilitating medical conditions
may be permitted to possess marijuana for their personal medical use. They
would also be allowed to grow it since there would be no legal supply
otherwise.

The Toronto Sun stated that the decriminalisation of simple marijuana
possession would save taxpayers $300 to $500 million a year.

"We spend millions of dollars fighting a plant that grows naturally," said
Matt Thompson, 32. "I think they should legalise marijuana, or at least
decriminalise it."

A Sun media poll taken in February of this year showed that 69 per cent of
Canadians favoured the decriminalisation of possession of small amounts of
marijuana.