CAUCHON ADMITS HE SMOKED POT; QUESTIONS POSSESSION LAW

OTTAWA -- Canada's top lawmaker admitted yesterday that he smoked pot in
his youth and questioned the suitability of a possession law that can play
havoc with an offender's employment.

"Yes, of course," Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said yesterday when asked
if he had ever smoked cannabis. "I'm 39 years old. I've been elected first
when I was 31 years old and yes, of course I tried it before, obviously."

Mr. Cauchon raised the possibility earlier this week of decriminalizing
possession of the drug, saying it is applied unevenly.

Legal experts have said that, although few individuals continue to be
punished with jail time, the stigma of a criminal record can close certain
avenues of employment and make it difficult to travel to the United States.

Asked if it is appropriate that being convicted of simple possession should
limit a person's career, Mr. Cauchon said that was one reason MPs and
senators have been asked to look at the issue.

"That's why actually there are two standing committees having a look at it
and they will come forward with their own recommendations and conclusions."

Mr. Cauchon, a lawyer, said he couldn't tell from his own experience
whether smoking cannabis is harmful.

Alan Young, a civil liberties lawyer, said that there are several ways in
which being found guilty of possession can damage a person's future
employment prospects.

For example, a private moving company might refuse a job applicant work
because a criminal record makes it difficult to bond a person. The federal
government often asks prospective employees about criminal offences, he added.

Travelling to the United States can also be difficult, Mr. Young said. In
the late 1990s, for example, some U.S. border personnel began asking
Canadian travellers whether they had ever smoked pot, in an effort to try
to slow down importation of Canadian-grown pot, he said.

"If people were stupid enough to say yes, they were often barred."

A spokesman for the Quebec Bar Association said the society punishes a
lawyer only when it becomes clear an offence impedes his or her ability to
do their job. That could cover a Crown lawyer prosecuting drug crimes, Leon
Bedard said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jean Chretien told reporters that he has never
smoked dope.

"When I was young the word marijuana did not exist," he said after emerging
from a meeting of the federal cabinet. "I didn't know. I learned about the
word long after that. It was too late to try it."

Mr. Cauchon's decision to consider decriminalization was met with deep
skepticism yesterday by representatives of Canadian police forces.

"We have to be clear that marijuana is a mind-altering drug," said Mike
Niebudek, vice-president of the Canadian Police Association.