DON'T EASE UP ON POT: POLICE

OTTAWA (CP) -- A group representing Canadian municipal police authorities
urged the federal government to implement a national drug strategy
yesterday as it denounced the legalization of illicit drugs, including
marijuana.

"This resolution, which has been endorsed by all three of the country's
national policing advocates -- the boards, the officers and the chiefs --
we believe will send a clear message to our nation's leaders," Herb
Kreling, president of the Canadian Association of Police Boards, told a
news conference.

The association, which represents over 50 municipal police boards and
commissions across Canada, passed the resolution during its annual general
meeting.

Past Success

Kreling says the resolution also has the support of the Canadian
Association of Chiefs of Police and the Canadian Police Association. He
added that previous proposals on child pornography and organized crime have
ended up enshrined in federal legislation.

Both Justice Minister Martin Cauchon and Solicitor General Lawrence
MacAulay have been told of the decisions reached during the two-day
conference, Kreling said.

MacAulay attended the conference on Friday and will meet again with the group.

The association is also asking MacAulay for an external review of a
Correctional Services of Canada policy that allows maximum-security
prisoners to be upgraded to lower-security facilities.

Clear Rules

Among its other resolutions, the association wants:

*Clear rules setting out how police are funded while hosting international
meetings, such as the June G8 summit held in Kananaskis, Alta.;

*National task force to explore the regulation or legal status of the use,
possession and distribution of cannabis;

*Tougher prison terms and financial penalties for the illegal cultivation
and distribution of marijuana;

*An international study on the effect of full public disclosure and
recidivism rates of high risk offenders, particularly sex offenders;

*National rules governing the use of strip searches.