OTTAWA SET TO EASE POT LAWS

Cauchon Suggests He'll Move Next Year On Plans To Decriminalize Marijuana

OTTAWA -- The Liberal government is preparing to move ahead in the new year
with legislation to decriminalize marijuana, Justice Minister Martin
Cauchon said yesterday.

"If we're talking about that question of decriminalizing marijuana, we may
move ahead quickly as a government," he said. Changes will likely be
introduced "some time in the new year," Mr. Cauchon said, but he would not
be much more specific about when.

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

The government signalled in October's Throne Speech that it would move
toward decriminalization. Mr. Cauchon had hinted previously that he would
consider doing so.

He made his remarks yesterday after a special parliamentary committee
issued a report on the non-medical use of drugs that recommended
establishing safe injection sites for heroin addicts. The all-party
committee of MPs, which has studied drug abuse over the past 18 months,
will release its findings on marijuana in a separate report Thursday.

Mr. Cauchon has said in the past that he would consider decriminalizing
marijuana possession by removing it from the Criminal Code and making it an
offence punishable with a fine instead of a criminal record.

Sources told The Canadian Press yesterday that the report will adopt that
position and also recommend letting Canadians grow pot for personal use.

In September, a Senate committee on illegal drugs went further than that,
recommending legalizing marijuana for people 16 and older. John Walters,
the U.S. administration's drug czar, criticized that report, and Canadian
government officials acknowledged privately that the prospect of
decriminalization will rile the U.S. government, which has long waged war
against illegal drugs.

Under the changes Mr. Cauchon is considering, an individual found with
marijuana would get a warning under the Civil Code, something like a
traffic ticket, instead of facing criminal charges.

Similar measures are expected to become law next year in Britain.

Canadian Alliance MP Randy White, vice-chairman of the parliamentary
committee, said he would not oppose decriminalization for personal
consumption if the amount of marijuana was five grams or less.

"It has to do with criminal convictions for being caught smoking a joint,"
Mr. White said. "Far too many people are smoking it."

Alliance MP Keith Martin has introduced a private member's bill
recommending decriminalization of marijuana possession for people found
with 100 grams or less.

"We know the status quo is a failure," he said. "The war on drugs has been
a failure."

Dr. Martin, a Victoria physician, said he believes consumption of marijuana
would decrease if it were decriminalized.

The maximum amount at which possession would be decriminalized is expected
to be a topic of debate.

About 600,000 Canadians have criminal records for possession of marijuana,
and about 1.5 million people, or 5 per cent of the population, smoke it
recreationally, the Canadian Medical Association says.

Canada made pot illegal in 1923 and spends about $1.3-billion a year in
marijuana-related police and prosecution costs.

When asked about the suggestion in yesterday's report that the government
back pilot projects for safe injection sites for drug users in Montreal,
Toronto, and Vancouver, Mr. Cauchon said: "Just give me the time to read
the report, see the recommendations, and as Justice Minister, I'll get back
to you."

The report called for supervised injection sites for heroin users and for
making methadone available to addicted prison inmates.

"We must have a significant shift in the way we think about substance
abuse," said Liberal MP Paddy Torsney of Burlington, Ont., chairwoman of
the Commons committee. "There's a huge body of evidence that tells us doing
the same things we've been doing will have the same results. Those results
are unacceptable."

She refused to say whether the committee would back the Senate report's
recommendation to legalize marijuana.

The Commons committee's report, which had 39 recommendations, also proposed
the appointment of a Canadian drug commissioner, increased funds for the
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and treatment programs for fetal alcohol
syndrome.

"We're not suggesting anybody be soft on drugs," Ms. Torsney said. "We're
suggesting that people deal with the health issues and societal issues that
are causing concerns across this country. And we need to deal with those
issues aggressively."

The recommendation to try safe injection sites, decried as "shooting
galleries" by opponents, also brought criticism from police and opposition MPs.

Supervised sites, already established in some European countries, are
controlled health-care settings where drug users can inject themselves
using sterile equipment under the supervision of medical personnel.
Proponents say it leads to rehabilitation and prevents overdose deaths.

Mr. White, vice-chairman of the committee, said there's no evidence the
sites work.

"They have been shown to be an addict magnet," he said. "They don't get
people off the drugs. That's why I call harm reduction harm extension."

"Our concern is that we're sliding down a slippery slope to the point where
it won't be long that we'll be getting calls for dispensing drugs in those
sites as well," said David Griffin, executive officer of the Canadian
Association of Chiefs of Police.

The report also recommended that Correctional Service Canada develop a
three-year plan to reduce "substantially the flow of illicit drugs into
prison." In addition, it urged improved access to rehabilitation programs
and methadone treatment for heroin users and setting up two pilot
detoxification prisons.