TOP COPS DON'T FAVOUR LOOSER POT LAWS

LETHBRIDGE (CP) - Alberta police chiefs meeting in Lethbridge this week
aren't fans of a looser pot possession law proposed by the federal government.

''We are absolutely against decriminalization,'' said Camrose police Chief
Marshall Chalmers, president of the Alberta Association of Chiefs of
Police. ''We believe it's absolutely sending the wrong message.''

Lethbridge police are co-hosting the three-day conference which brings
together top officers from the province's seven municipal and tribal police
services as well as RCMP officials.

Solicitor General Heather Forsyth is scheduled to address the chiefs
Wednesday evening. Decriminalization of possession of small amounts of
marijuana is just one of dozens of issues expected to be discussed during
the three-day conference which begins Tuesday.

''The Liberals seem to be hell-bent on this issue, and we don't have to
agree with it,'' Chalmers said.

Federal Health Minister Anne McLellan has given qualified support for
forthcoming federal legislation.