GRIMES LIGHTENS MARIJUANA STAND

St. John's -- On Thursday, Premier Roger Grimes tempered the comments he
made Wednesday on marijuana.

On Wednesday, Grimes said the federal government wouldn't be going far
enough by decriminalizing pot -- he said it should be legalized, produced
in factories and taxed like tobacco to pay for services like health care.

Thursday, Grimes said he was expressing his personal views, and not those
of the Liberal government or the Liberal party.

"I am not a champion at all for the legalization of any kind of drugs.
That' s not the life I lead. Matter of fact, I'd advise people to not even
smoke cigarettes, let alone marijuana," he insisted, a day after admitting
he tried pot in university.

"What I did yesterday was be Roger Grimes -- honest and open when asked a
question."