WILL CANADA MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION BE COLLATERAL DAMAGE IN IRAQ WAR?

The momentum for marijuana law reform appears to be slowing within the
Canadian government, due in part to fears of alienating the Bush
administration. Last December, Justice Minister Maurice Cauchon vowed
to introduce marijuana decriminalization legislation by the end of
next month, but in remarks in Toronto last week Cauchon pushed back
that timeline.

Some Canadian politicians and observers believe concerns about
angering the US -- already unhappy with Canadian refusals to support
its Iraq invasion -- may explain part of the delay.

Although both chambers of the Canadian Parliament last year issued
reports calling for marijuana law reform -- the Senate report called
for outright legalization -- and Justice Minister Cauchon said the
government would push for decrim, he didn't sound so certain last
week. Speaking with reporters in Toronto, Cauchon said he "would be
happy" if the government could introduce a decrim bill before
Parliament's summer break, but that he believed Canada needed a
national debate before taking any such step. He also told reporters he
wanted to study the two parliamentary reports on marijuana law reform.

"What will take place in the future in terms of policy, we'll see," he
said. "I told you, I would like to reform the system... We'll come
forward with my policy as soon as I can."

Still, in earlier remarks before Toronto businessmen, Cauchon appeared
to be standing by his commitment to move on decrim. "The criminal law
is a blunt tool; it is only effective if it is applied consistently
and if it reflects true social consensus on an issue," he told the
Empire Club of Canada. "I am troubled by the inconsistent application
of the criminal law to the possession of small amounts of marijuana
for criminal use. Your children or grandchildren may not be charged if
they are caught in Toronto, but kids in small towns across Canada are
being charged for exactly the same behavior.

This means that kids are ending up with a criminal conviction,"
Cauchon continued. "This can have a devastating impact on their lives
- - from the types of jobs they can get, to traveling or going to
university in other countries, particularly the United States," he
added.

Cauchon added that he had intended to travel to the US to discuss the
move with US officials, but that trip had been delayed because of the
Iraq invasion. (The National Post reported Thursday that President
Bush is considering canceling a scheduled May visit to Canada because
of concerns that he would by met by a hostile reception from
parliamentarians and mass demonstrations against his invasion of Iraq.
A significant portion of Canadian public opinion has been infuriated
by US Ambassador Paul Cellucci's recent remarks that many Americans
are "disappointed and upset" over Canada's refusal to participate in
the US invasion.)

US irritation with Canada may be a factor slowing the move to decrim,
said Eugene Oscapella of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy
(http://www.cfdp.ca). "The US ambassador has recently scolded Canada
for not sending troops to Iraq," Oscapella told DRCNet. "There have
been threats of trade sanctions and interference with cross-border
commerce, so the issue may now be on hold. This tension between the
two governments might actually cause our government to back off a bit,
and that's a real worry."

Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, who chaired the Senate committee whose
report called for outright legalization of marijuana for those over
16, has also suggested in recent days that the government won't want
to further inflame relations with the US by sponsoring a decrim bill
now. President Bush himself warned of increasing Canadian marijuana
imports in January, calling Canadian anti-drug efforts "inadequate,"
and his drug czar, John Walters, has strongly criticized any Canadian
proposals to relax the marijuana laws.

"The reality of this political relationship between Canada and the US
is so important and so hard to predict right now," said Oscapella. "If
the war drags on, that will exacerbate US criticism of Canada. I worry
that something completely unrelated to our effort to change the
marijuana laws will derail this process.

Cauchon is the government's lead minister in this, but we also have to
consider the Foreign Ministry, the ministries of industry and trade.

We're on the brink of serious consequences with the Americans over
Iraq, and the business community doesn't want to do anything that
might endanger commerce."

Still, said Oscapella, he remained convinced that the government will
move on decrim. "Their intentions remain good," he said, "and it is
possible the government is delaying because it wants to introduce
decrim as part of a national drug strategy, one component of which
will be to decriminalize marijuana possession." The opposition
Alliance Party has said it will fight decrim if it comes without a
national drug strategy, Oscapella added. "The government wants as many
allies as possible."

And if Cauchon actually gets around to introducing a bill, things
could move fast, Oscapella added. "The government has an absolute
majority in Parliament, and the New Democrats and the Parti Quebecois
will vote with them on this, so even if there are defections, there
are enough votes to go ahead and move this. It could end up passing
very, very quickly then," he said.

But until that bill is introduced or the government acts through the
regulatory process to effectively decriminalize marijuana, Canadian
decrim remains in danger of becoming a collateral casualty of the US
invasion of Iraq.