Canada considers easing marijuana laws as U.S. frets

TORONTO -- Getting caught with an ounce or less of marijuana in Canada should bring fines, not prison time and a criminal record, a parliamentary committee said Thursday.

The committee was the second in Parliament that has called for Canada to ease its marijuana laws -- despite protests from the United States.

Canada's Supreme Court is also preparing to hear a constitutional challenge to laws that make it illegal to possess pot, and Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said this week that legislation to decriminalize marijuana could be introduced early in 2003.

The report by a House of Commons committee on drugs said too many young Canadians get a criminal record for the relatively minor offense of smoking pot.

Rather than legalizing marijuana, as recommended by a Senate committee, the House panel proposed a fine or other sanction instead of the maximum six-month jail term for possession.

The report also differed from the Senate committee by not calling for an amnesty for the estimated 600,000 Canadians with a criminal record for possession of cannabis.

It proposes government education and prevention programs for young people, naming a drug commissioner to report on national drug strategy, and more money each year for the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse.

American officials oppose the push toward greater leniency.

Liberalizing laws will boost drug use and bring more pot into the United States, said John Walters, director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Canada is already a major source of marijuana for the United States, with an estimated $2.5-billion worth smuggled in each year, Walters said Thursday.

While he didn't think the new laws would "destroy" relations between the historically friendly neighbors, Walters said the United States would be forced to combat the increased flow of drugs.

"My theory is it's going to cause unnecessary harm to our citizens and our children on both sides of our borders," he said.

The Canadian Supreme Court will hear a constitutional challenge to marijuana laws Friday. The basic argument is that people should not be imprisoned for something that isn't harmful.

Walters said it's a myth that marijuana isn't harmful, saying 60 percent of drug-dependent Americans are hooked on it.

"For people who try to tell Americans marijuana is not something we have to pay attention to -- it's a lie," he said.

The issue joins a growing list of differences between the North American neighbors that share the world's largest trade partnership, worth more than $1-billion a day.

Despite their military ties and common democratic values, Canada has traditionally adopted more liberal social policies, in part to distinguish itself from its neighbor. Examples include diplomatic ties with Cuba, a ban on capital punishment and more lenient immigration policies.

Last year, Canada implemented a medical marijuana program that allows some patients to possess and grow pot.

Eight U.S. states have taken steps toward permitting the medicinal use of marijuana. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has ruled there is no exception in federal law for marijuana use.

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