FEDERAL MARIJUANA POLICY WORRIES LOCAL POLITICIANS

It may soon be legal to carry small amounts of marijuana and Delta
politicians have some serious concerns.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien is expected to announce this week the
government's plans to decriminalize possession of small amounts of
marijuana. While it's unclear what limit will be set on possession - some
suspect it will be 20 grams or less of the drug - others believe it will be
a 30-gram limit. Delta MP John Cummins said no matter what the amount, a
policy of this kind has widespread implications.

"We've got to look at the big picture here and ask ourselves just what we
want our society to look like, and how we want our society to respond to a
greater toleration to the use of drugs such as marijuana."

A Supreme Court decision on decriminalization of marijuana is also expected
this week.

Cummins believes the federal Liberals haven't considered the policy thoroughly.

"Overall there is no strategy to deal with the fallout on this. What is the
impact going to be on travel to the U.S.? Is this going to result in more
grow-ops?" he asked.

"These are important side issues that the government hasn't addressed, but
they are issues that they should have a handle on before they proceed,"
Cummins said.

Delta South MLA Val Roddick didn't want to comment in detail until Chretien
makes his announcement. But grow-ups and organized crime are her chief
concerns.

"Drug policy is a federal issue - grow-ops become a provincial issue," she
said. "We really need help with this ... any type of drugs are attached to
organized crime. There's no doubt about that."

Marijuana is also connected, Cummins noted, to harder drugs. "Proponents of
marijuana use say no. But if you talk to people with addictions to harder
drugs - as I have - there is a connection."

Cummins believes the government needs to also satisfy concerns the U.S. may
have. "We can't say we want free trade and free flow of citizens for trade
and we are not likely to achieve that if we have a huge discrepancy of
these types of laws," he said.

BC's Solicitor General Rich Coleman expressed similar concerns. "I don't
believe they've actually sat down with our friends to the south," Coleman
said. "I'm very concerned about our message to our international partners."

Chretien's ego may have something to do with the announcement, Cummins
claimed. "I think it's the Prime Minister wanting to leave the impression
that he's somehow still in control ... when the reality is it's chaos here."