POT-LAW REFORM MAY BRING SPIKE: MCLELLAN

OTTAWA -- Canada must be prepared for a potential increase in marijuana
use, at least in the short run, if simple possession of pot is
decriminalized, Health Minister Anne McLellan warned yesterday.

McLellan made the comment as Justice Minister Martin Cauchon announced he
will introduce a bill the last week of May to reform marijuana laws and
decriminalize possession of small amounts of the drug.

Reports from U.S. states that have dropped criminal sanctions indicate
there is a spike in use immediately after the law is changed, McLellan said
as she left a Liberal caucus meeting.

"Certainly one has to be ready to deal with that spike," she said. "It can
lead to addiction, it can lead to all sorts of situations within local
communities. You need to be ready with information, with education and with
treatment."

But McLellan's contention was immediately questioned by Cauchon.

Will Press Ahead

"I don't believe that," said Cauchon, noting an estimated 100,000 Canadians
already use pot.

Cauchon's announcement that he will press ahead with the pot bill came a
day after he travelled to Washington to brief U.S. Attorney General John
Ashcroft on the government's plan to eliminate jail terms and criminal
records for people convicted of possession of small amounts of pot.

Under the new regime they would receive fines, and the offence would be
treated in much the same manner as a traffic violation.

Cauchon described his meeting with Ashcroft as "very cordial" but would not
say how Ashcroft reacted. Nor would he speculate on whether the concerns of
the Bush administration about decriminalization have been fully laid to rest.