MOVE TO OK POT RIPPED

Drug Czar Sees Threat To U.S. Health In Canada Proposal

DETROIT -- The U.S. drug czar on Thursday criticized a movement to legalize
marijuana use in Canada, saying it would threaten public health in this
country and reverse recent efforts to streamline border security.

"I don't think there's any mistake about it: We intend to protect our
citizens. We would have no choice," said John P. Walters, director of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy.

His comments came a week after a Canadian parliamentary committee called
for legalizing marijuana use among adults, increasing pressure to shift
drug laws away from zero-tolerance policies in the United States.

Walters said the United States respects Canada as a "sovereign country."

"As long as (marijuana) stays in Canada, it's Canada's business," he said.

But Walters directly criticized the Canadian Senate Committee on Illegal
Drugs, which urged the government to regulate marijuana in the same way as
alcohol and to expunge criminal records for possession.

"In my view, you don't make a major step involving a dangerous drug without
telling people what the dangers are," he said. "Marijuana is the single
biggest drug of addiction in history."

The drug czar's visit to Detroit -- the largest city on the United States'
5,525-mile border with Canada -- followed a Monday stop by President Bush
and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

Those two leaders visited the city to report progress in tightening
security at U.S.-Canadian crossings while keeping goods flowing between the
world's largest trading partners.

Walters was flanked at a downtown news conference by law enforcement and
drug officials who also opposed legalization.

Walters' Michigan counterpart warned Thursday that legalization could harm
the state's young people and make law enforcement's job much harder. Teens
already cross the Detroit River to drink alcohol, gamble and visit strip
clubs in Windsor, Ontario. They could travel there for pot and bring it
back, said Craig J. Yaldoo, director of the state Office of Drug Control
Policy.

"Anytime you make available a harmful substance, you're going to get a
large group of people that may gravitate that way," he said.

The Canadian Senate committee's recommendation is another in a series of
moves toward legalization in that country. Last year, Canada passed laws
allowing eligible medical patients to grow and possess marijuana.

A number of U.S. states have taken some kind of step toward permitting the
medicinal use of marijuana. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that
there is no exception in federal law for people to use marijuana.