Pubdate: Fri, 13 Dec 2002
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2002, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://www.fyitoronto.com/torsun.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: David Gamble

YANKS NOT COOL

Laxer Pot Laws Will Mean Tighter Border, U.S. Warns

OTTAWA -- Looser marijuana laws in Canada will lead to even tighter 
security at the U.S. border, American officials warned yesterday.

U.S. drug cops could soon be shifting their attention from the Mexican 
border north once the Liberal government decriminalizes pot possession, 
according to a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

President George W. Bush's anti-drug czar John Walters also took aim at 
yesterday's Commons committee recommendation that possession of 30 grams of 
pot should result in nothing more than a ticket and no criminal record.

"Smoking any amount of marijuana is unhealthy, but the consequences of 
conviction for a small amount of marijuana for personal use are 
disproportionate to the potential harm," said Liberal MP Paddy Torsney, 
chairman of the committee.

DEA spokesman Will Glaspy said American experts still see pot as "an 
illegal, harmful and dangerous substance," and he hopes Canadian 
authorities get the information they need to make a "good" decision.

"What it would mean for the United States obviously would require us to put 
more emphasis and place more security along our northern border," Glaspy said.

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has already said he's ready to roll on the 
decriminalization of marijuana for personal use by early next year.

Walters used a visit to Buffalo to sound off on the evils of marijuana, the 
increasing $5-billion US cross-border flow of Canadian-grown high-potency 
marijuana known as "B.C. Bud" and the dangers of easy marijuana laws.

"It makes security at the border tougher because this is a dangerous threat 
to our young people, given what we see, and it makes the problem of 
controlling the border more difficult," Walters said after being asked 
about the committee recommendation.

'That's An Archaic View'

He said the U.S. recognizes Canada is "a sovereign country," but the 
American example shows marijuana use is addictive and expensive to society, 
and it shouldn't be encouraged.

"I care about the Canadian people," Walters said, noting his father was 
Canadian.

He said the notion that marijuana isn't a serious drug or an addictive drug 
isn't true.

"That's an archaic view ... left over from the Cheech-and-Chong years of 
the '70s," he said.

Cauchon rebuffed the U.S. views, insisting the Liberal government is only 
talking about decriminalizing "small quantities," not the full legalization 
of pot, which he agreed would be a cause for concern for the Americans.

"I will analyze the report and I will analyze the future positions of the 
federal government on what is good for the entire Canadian society," he said.

Other recommendations by the Commons committee include more money for the 
government's drug-abuse prevention program, a "renewed" national anti-drug 
strategy head by a commissioner with regular reports to Parliament and no 
amnesty for the 600,000 Canadians who have been convicted of pot possession.
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