POT RELAXATION BILL DUE

Ottawa -- Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, setting the stage for
another clash with the United States, said Tuesday he would soon introduce
legislation to decriminalize the possession and cultivation of small amounts
of marijuana.

The announcement was the strongest indication yet that Canada would follow
through on a promise it made last year to relax laws so that people found
guilty of possessing small amounts of marijuana would not get a criminal
record.

The United States has repeatedly expressed concern about the increasing
amount of potent Canadian marijuana flowing south across the long border.

Chretien told a fund-raising dinner for the ruling Liberal Party that he did
not intend to legalize marijuana and said he would press ahead with
strategies designed to crack down on drug traffickers. Canadian Prime
Minister Jean Chretien, setting the stage for another clash with the United
States, said Tuesday he would soon introduce legislation to decriminalize
the possession and cultivation of small amounts of marijuana.

The announcement was the strongest indication yet that Canada would follow
through on a promise it made last year to relax laws so that people found
guilty of possessing small amounts of marijuana would not get a criminal
record.

The United States has repeatedly expressed concern about the increasing
amount of potent Canadian marijuana flowing south across the long border.

Chretien told a fund-raising dinner for the ruling Liberal Party that he did
not intend to legalize marijuana and said he would press ahead with
strategies designed to crack down on drug traffickers.