CANADA TO END CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR POT

Justice Minister Promises Legal Change May Be Only Four Months Away

Canada could do away with criminal penalties for the possession of small
amounts of marijuana for personal use as early as next spring, according to
statements made Monday by Justice Minister Martin Cauchon. Cauchon's
statements come just days before the release of a special House of Common's
report on marijuana policy. That report is expected to recommend Parliament
decriminalize the use and cultivation of marijuana for personal use.

"If we talk about the question of decriminalizing marijuana, we may move
ahead quickly as a government," Cauchon told The Canadian Press.

"I don't like to give you a date or a time frame, but let's say the first
four month of next year."

The House of Common's special committee report is the second Canadian
Parliament report this year recommending Ottawa overhaul it's pot policies.
A previous study by the Senate's Special Committee on Illegal Drugs
recommended Parliament regulate the use and distribution of marijuana for
medical and recreational purposes for those over 16 years old.

The House's recommendations are expected to be more conservative. Canadian
newspaper sources report that the committee will likely back decriminalizing
30 grams or less of marijuana, as well as the cultivation of pot for
personal use.

Under decriminalization, persons found with small amounts of pot would
receive an administrative fine, but would not be subject to arrest or a
criminal record. Twelve U.S. states have enacted similar policies.

NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup endorsed Canada's proposed policy
change, saying that Cauchon's statements are "an acknowledgement that
criminal marijuana prohibition is more damaging to society than the
responsible use of marijuana itself. This message from Canada is one that
our federal government will not be able to ignore."

According to a recent CNN/Time Magazine poll, 72 percent of Americans would
support a similar marijuana decriminalization policy in the U.S.

"The American public recognizes that adults who smoke marijuana responsibly
are not criminals and they do not want to spend our nation's limited police
resources arresting and jailing them," Stroup said.

U.S. law enforcement spends an estimated $7.5 to $10 billion annually
enforcing marijuana laws, Stroup added, noting that more than 720,000
Americans were arrested on marijuana charges last year, according to the FBI
- - a figure far larger than the total number of all Canadians who have ever
received a criminal record for marijuana.

For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup or Paul Armentano
of NORML at (202) 483-5500.