$1 BILLION, THE EASY WAY

You could call it a bold leap into the 1960s. Except it's only a trial balloon.

Canadian Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has mused publicly about relaxing
the country's marijuana prohibition. The drug must remain illegal, but
simple possession might be considered a non-criminal offence punishable by
fines rather than jail, he said.

Cauchon even admitted smoking a joint or two in his younger days, without
even a Clintonesque 'I didn't inhale' disclaimer thrown in.

Brave words perhaps, but it's only because Britain decided a week earlier
that it would relax its possession laws that the Canadian government
suddenly gets bold on the issue. That, and the fact that parliamentary
committees in Ottawa are soon to release reports expected to recommend
decriminalization.

So, up goes the trial balloon. Media, interest groups and the public are
gauged for reaction. And if the winds aren't too gusty, the bid could take
off as soon as this fall.

Well, hallelujah. But then there's that report by the B.C. Business Council
released just a day or two after Cauchon's remarks.

This study estimates that at least $20 billion is conducted in underground
business, legal and illegal, every year in this province.

Let's assume, very conservatively, that $2 billion of that is the trade of
marijuana. And suppose that governments slapped a 50 per cent sin-tax on it