CAUCHON: DECRIMINALIZING MARIJUANA COULD BE STEP TO REFORMING DRUG LAWS

OTTAWA -- Decriminalizing marijuana might be a "first step" in reforming
drug laws which seem out of date, Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said
Thursday.

The marijuana law needs to be changed, and decriminalization _ which would
let people possess and use small quantities of cannabis without facing a
criminal record _ is a logical option, he said.

"It probably would be feasible as a first step," Cauchon said outside a
cabinet meeting. "I feel that there is a strong support. I feel that the
population is there.

"To keep it the way it is now doesn't make any sense to me in the year 2002
... The legislation in place is sort of disconnected with Canadian reality."

Cauchon's musing didn't sit well with Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen
Harper, who told reporters he'd rather see his kids drinking alcohol than
smoking marijuana.

Harper, father of a 3-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy, said he doesn't buy
the argument that alcohol is more harmful than marijuana.

Cauchon said he'll have a new policy ready early next year, but he first
wants to see the report of a Commons committee which has been studying the
issue of illicit drugs. That report is expected in November.

A special Senate committee recommended Wednesday that cannabis be
legalized. ___P) PQ may ditch go-slow approach to sovereignty in hope of
saving party

QUEBEC (AP) _ The Parti Quebecois is planning a full-throttle charge for
Quebec independence by 2005 in an attempt to win back sovereignties voters
and save itself from possible obliteration.

The party has stagnated with its go-slow approach to sovereignty and
appears ready to promise a referendum if re-elected in the next provincial
election.

Until now, Premier Bernard Landry has said he would hold a referendum only
if he were fully convinced the "yes" side would win.

But with many disenchanted sovereigntists deserting the PQ in favor of
L'Action democratique du Quebec, Landry is expected to tell party members
at a meeting this weekend there definitely will be a referendum if the PQ
is re-elected.

The new approach would please former PQ premier Jacques Parizeau.

"The Parti Quebecois' current situation is a difficult one," Parizeau told
reporters Thursday.

"It's clear that the first step in the remedy is to win back a fair number
of supporters. The premier will announce certain things (this weekend). The
government is trying to take steps to correct the situation."

Support for the PQ had been steadily declining since last year, when the
popular Lucien Bouchard resigned as premier.