NO LEGAL POT SOON

Senate Panel Says Yes, Our Top Liberal Differs

Canadians will not be free to spark up spliffs and smoke doobies anytime
soon, despite a Senate report which recommends Ottawa legalize marijuana
use, says Manitoba's senior Liberal MP.

"At this point, I don't think there is any plan on the part of the federal
government ... to follow this report," Rey Pagtakhan told The Sun yesterday.

Pagtakhan said legalizing marijuana has many "social and economic
implications" -- and the public would have to be consulted before any
changes are contemplated by the feds. In the meantime, the report "may just
be on the shelf for a little while," he said.

Canadian Alliance justice critic Vic Toews said many of his constituents
are worried the feds are planning on selling dope at government-run "pot
shops" -- which would make it easier for teens to get their hands on the drug.

"I guess at this point my concern is that the Senate is non-elected and
they're free to make all these recommendations without any fear or
accountability to the general public," the Manitoba MP told The Sun.

In a report released yesterday, a Senate committee said the current system
of prohibition doesn't work and should be replaced by a regulated system,
perhaps like that used for alcohol.

The committee also recommended amnesty for anyone with a criminal record
for possessing pot. An estimated 600,000 Canadians have been convicted of
simple cannabis possession.

Pagtakhan declined to say whether he would support the legalization of
marijuana, and said he wants to read the senate report in its entirety
before making that decision.

"Perhaps it would be best for me to reserve judgment on this," he said.

A spokeswoman for Premier Gary Doer and Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh
said the province has "not done an analysis" on the topic, and said
legalizing marijuana is not a provincial priority.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Senator Sharon Carstairs said the former leader
of the Manitoba Liberals needed more time to read the report before commenting.

Winnipeg deputy police chief Jim Thompson said the Canadian Association of
Chiefs of Police recently passed a resolution opposing legalizing pot, and
River City cops stand behind that idea.