INCLUDE U.S. IN DRUG DISCUSSIONS, PANEL HEARS

Canada needs to include the United States in discussions on the creation of
a new drug policy, a Senate committee on illegal drugs heard this week.

As part of its efforts to table a final report addressing Canada's policy
on cannabis, the committee held meetings with several U.S. officials
including John Walters, director of the U.S. national drug policy.

Committee chair Pierre Claude Nolin said Mr. Walters told the group that if
Canada adopts some form of decriminalization of marijuana, the U.S. would
not want to encroach on Canada's legislation.

However, "the two neighbours would influence each other's policy," Mr.
Nolin told globeandmail.com.

Mr. Walters also said that information must flow freely across the border,
said Mr. Nolin, who heads the Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs,
which is looking specifically at the use of cannabis in Canada.

"We agreed on rigour and unbiased information. That's the only way we can
discuss [the issue]," Mr. Nolin said.

Officials from both countries also talked about the need to develop the
same lexicons, he said.

For example, if Canada decided that abuse of a drug amounts to a certain
number of grams a day, the United States would use the same standards.

Although there is nothing in writing with respect to the standards, the
talks mean that "the door is now open to have a formal discussion on it,"
Mr. Nolin said.

Common to both countries are jurisdiction problems, he said.

Canada's federal, provincial and municipal governments need to work more
closely together on new drug strategies, he said.

The committee is charged with developing the guiding principles for the
government with respect to marijuana use.

Mr. Nolin said that the final report must be presented to Senate on Sept.
13, but he hopes to have a copy ready by the first week of September.
Although the topic of decriminalization will be included in the document,
it will not be its "cornerstone," he said.

Rather, the report will speak to what steps the government should take next
to change or improve the nation's public policy on illegal drugs, he said.
Also included will be a discussion on whether Canada should develop an
independent drug information agency that is not tied to the federal
government, similar to the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the United
States.

The committee wrapped up cross-country hearings this week in which it heard
testimony from police, marijuana activists, health officials and other
Canadians about how the government should develop a new drug strategy.

A recent discussion paper released by the Special Senate Committee on
Illegal Drugs also said that its preliminary conclusions found that
marijuana is not a "gateway drug" to the use of harder narcotics.

"Scientific evidence seems to indicate that cannabis is not a gateway drug.
It may be appropriate to treat it more like alcohol or tobacco than like
the harder drugs," Mr. Nolin said when the report was released.