NO POT LEGALIZATION SOON: OBSERVERS

OTTAWA -- Don't expect marijuana to be decriminalized any time soon despite
promises from Justice Minister Martin Cauchon, say some observers.

Skeptics predict Cauchon's promised legislation, expected by spring, will
die on the order paper at the end of the current session of Parliament.
They suggest it is being introduced as a time-buying sop without backing
from the prime minister.

"There won't be enough time to pass it," said Alan Young, a law professor
at Osgoode Hall law school.

"He (Cauchon) knows it's going to die on the order paper."

Last month, a House of Commons committee recommended that people be allowed
to possess up to 30 grams of marijuana without risking criminal penalties.

Young said the biggest obstacle to decriminalization is U.S. opposition.

U.S. drug czar John Walters has warned his country might tighten security
to prevent a surge in contraband cannabis if Canadian laws are eased. That
could affect the movement of legal goods across the border, a huge concern
for export industries.