PM LASHED FOR POT BILL'S U.S. PREVIEW

Let MPs See It, NDP, Tories Fume

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Jean Chretien yesterday maintained his government
will continue to take a tough line on drug trafficking and sent Justice
Minister Martin Cauchon to Washington to soothe U.S. fears over plans to
decriminalize pot.

"We are modernizing the sentences for marijuana; we are not making it
legal," Chretien said following a cabinet discussion of the bill, which
could be introduced as early as tomorrow.

"They (penalties) will be different. They will be tougher for the growers,
the traffickers, and less tough for the people who use it in small
quantities, but it is still illegal."

However, the Liberals came under fire for being soft on Canadian
sovereignty, with Chretien's foes accusing him of bowing to U.S. pressure
on the drug bill.

NDP parliamentary leader Bill Blaikie took aim at Chretien for allowing
Cauchon to give U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft a sneak peek at the
marijuana bill last night.

"The one thing that did not seem to occur to the prime minister was to put
down the new marijuana law here in Parliament for members of Parliament,
who should have seen it first," said Blaikie (Winnipeg Transcona). "I ask
the prime minister: Why this contempt for Parliament?" Tory Leader Joe
Clark said the Liberals are clearly more concerned with what the Americans
think about the bill that with the opinions of Canada's elected
representatives.

"I wish this government, which talks so much about Canadian sovereignty,
would bring its proposals to the Parliament of Canada before it took them
to the government of the United States," Clark said.

Cauchon's plan to decriminalize cannabis would fine small-time pot users as
little as $100. The fine would apply to those caught with less than 15
grams of marijuana. The apparent threshold for the fine is about half of
the 30-gram amount recommended by a Commons committee last fall. The
special committee on the non-medical use of drugs said pot poses health
risks and it would be a mistake to legalize it, as a Senate committee had
recommended.

However, the Commons committee also said it would be wrong to continue to
treat the large number of Canadians who smoke small amounts of cannabis as
criminals.

Currently, convictions for simple possession can result in up to six months
in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

Cauchon's dinner last night with Ashcroft came as the Liberals try to
respond to longstanding U.S concerns about any move to soften the country's
pot laws. Fearing an increased flow of potent marijuana south into the
U.S., the Bush administration has warned of delays at the Canadian border
for searches of vehicles as part of its war on drugs. Cauchon said his
meeting with Ashcroft will only outline in broad terms the contents of his
bill.

"They are our partners," Cauchon told reporters. "It is important to inform
them of what we are doing as a general rule and tell them about our goals."