CAUCHON MIGHT RELAX CANADA'S MARIJUANA LAWS TO DO AWAY WITH PRISON TIME

OTTAWA (CP) - Justice Minister Martin Cauchon is considering relaxing
Canada's marijuana laws to make possession punishable by a fine instead of
a prison sentence, The Canadian Press has learned. But Cauchon's plans do
not include making the drug legal, said highly placed sources in the
Justice Department.

While fines would be imposed for possession of marijuana, trafficking would
continue to draw harsher punishments, the sources said. Cauchon might
address the issue at a meeting of the Canadian Bar next month in London,
Ont., they added. The report comes the same week that Britain announced it
will virtually decriminalize cannabis to give police more time to fight the
use of hard drugs.

Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, chairman of a Senate committee looking at
illegal drugs, dismissed the idea of imposing fines on marijuana-users.

"Most of those who are caught are young people and poor people," Nolin
said. "But they don't pay their fines. And what happens when we don't pay
fines? We go to prison."

Nolin is expected to table his report on Sept. 4.

In Canada, more than 250 people have clearance to smoke marijuana provided
by the federal government. Ottawa amended drug laws last year to allow such
clearance for patients with conditions such as HIV, cancer and multiple
sclerosis.

Proponents of decriminalization dismiss the war on drugs as a waste of time
and money.

Marijuana leaves no long-term effects on most users, and an estimated 30 to
50 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 24 have used the drug despite its
illegality, critics say.

Meanwhile, Canadian federal agencies spend about $500 million each year to
fight drugs and more than 30,000 people are charged with simple possession
annually, the Senate committee said in a preliminary report issued a few
months ago.

But opponents of decriminalization note that most addicted hard-drug users
start with marijuana.