GOV'T TO MOVE ON NEW POT LAW: PM

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Jean Chretien said yesterday his government is
pushing ahead with a new marijuana law and a national strategy aimed at
keeping teens off drugs.

In a speech at a Liberal fundraising dinner in Ottawa, Chretien said in the
coming weeks his government will follow through with its "activist" agenda.

That will include bringing in a new law to decriminalize possession of small
amounts of pot, the PM said.

The new pot law and the strategy will be unveiled in the next few weeks, he
said.

Young people should not "have unnecessary criminal records for the rest of
their lives," Chretien said.

"At the same time we will have a drug strategy to discourage young people
from using drugs, and which will target drug traffickers."