CAUCHON PONDERS POT 'FIRST STEP'

Minister Says Decriminalization, Not Legalization, a Logical Step

OTTAWA (CP) - Decriminalizing marijuana might be a "first step" in
reforming drug laws that seem out of date, Justice Minister Martin
Cauchon said today.

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

"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 booze
than smoking pot.

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

"As a parent, I would be more concerned about pot use than alcohol use
by my children, even in moderation," said Harper, an asthmatic who has
never smoked.

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

A special Senate committee recommended Wednesday that cannabis be
legalized, but Cauchon said that may be going too far.

Legalizing pot - which would allow for the open sale of the drug -
might promote a global ruckus, he said, because Canada has signed a
number of international treaties outlawing various drugs.

"At this point in time, the notion of legalizing marijuana is just not
possible from an international point of view," he said.

"We have to proceed on a step-by-step basis."

Canadian Alliance MP Randy White, vice-chair of the Commons committee
on drugs, said his colleagues don't support the Senate idea of
legalization.

"The general consensus is that legalization is not the route to
follow," he said.

The United States disagrees with the Senate report's findings that
cannabis is less harmful than alcohol and causes few, if any,
long-term problems.

John Walters, director of the U.S. national drug control policy,
disputed those findings in a statement Wednesday: "We know that
marijuana is a harmful drug, particularly for young people."

Cauchon said he hasn't had any reaction from Washington on the issue
and said he wouldn't be swayed by American policies.

"I'll do what's good for Canadian society."

Marijuana activists welcomed the Senate report, but condemned by the
Canadian Police Association, which said pot is a dangerous drug.