POT-USE SURVEY ALARMS PARENTS

A pot-smoking generational gap between Canada's young people and their
parents is widening, a poll suggests.

Thirty-six per cent of Canadians aged 18-24 have smoked marijuana in the
past year, compared to only eight per cent of those aged 35-54, according
to a poll by Leger Marketing.

The percentage of Canadian youth who smoke marijuana -- 58 per cent have
tried it by age 24, according to the poll -- has been rising since 1993 and
is now among the highest in the world.

"Absolutely parents should be concerned," said Diane Buhler, an executive
with the Parent Action Group on Drugs. "What if trying the drug moves on to
regular use?"

The poll was conducted between April 1 and April 6. It surveyed 1,501
Canadians and sample results can be considered accurate within 2.5
percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Marijuana possession is illegal in Canada, but in 2001, Ottawa enacted the
Marijuana Medical Access Regulations, which allow people who require
medicinal marijuana to apply to legally grow their own marijuana or
designate a grower for their supply. Ottawa granted Prairie Plant Systems
Inc., a five-year, $5.7-million contract in 2000 to grow marijuana in an
old copper mine in Flin Flon.