Pubdate: Thu, 21 Aug 2003 Source: Guelph Mercury (CN ON) Copyright: 2003 Guelph Mercury Newspapers Limited Contact: http://www.guelphmercury.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1418 Author: Andrew Bruce Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John) MP DISMISSES REPORT OF MARIJUANA MEETING Brenda Chamberlain says she and other backbench MPs were not trying to enlist the U.S. into bullying the Canadian government away from decriminalizing marijuana at a meeting in Ottawa last July. "It was silliness," Chamberlain, Guelph-Wellington's MP, said in reaction to allegations about the meeting between a group of Liberals, including Chamberlain, and Barry Crane, deputy director for supply reduction at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. According to Toronto media reports, a document that is apparently someone's minutes of the meeting on July 8 says the gathering was arranged to solicit the help of U.S. officials to defeat decriminalization. The memo says that MP Dan McTeague told Crane, known as the U.S. drug czar, to tell his superiors that the U.S. "needed to be clear with Canada about the consequences of this action. This view was particularly expressed by (Brenda) Chamberlain, who appeared to suggest that U.S. officials needed to tie trade and border issues to this bill in order to defeat it." Chamberlain told the Mercury she said no such thing and pointed out the fuzzy wording. "How do you appear to suggest something?" she said. Referring to her own notes from the meeting, Chamberlain told the Mercury Wednesday discussions mainly focused on the ills of marijuana use, including concerns expressed by Crane over the impacts of marijuana on road safety, as well what he sees as contradictions between Canada's fight against tobacco use and decriminalizing marijuana use. Crane did warn the MPs that there will be be delays at the border for Canadians crossing into the United States, said Chamberlain. "They are going to be looking for this stuff (marijuana) big time," said Chamberlain. Chamberlain said the MPs told Crane to let Prime Minister Jean Chretien know about the border impact, and Crane said he had done so already. The MPs asked Crane to repeat the message, said Chamberlain. "We need to know if there are going to be (impacts from decriminalization). That's important in the decision making process," Chamberlain told the Mercury. The July meeting was reported to have taken place at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, but Chamberlain told the Mercury the session was actually on Parliament Hill. Chamberlain said the meeting is also being painted as a secret session, but she pointed out that she spoke to the Mercury about it shortly afterward. A story that ran in the Mercury during the week of the meeting says Chamberlain had been part of a small group of MPs that met with Crane to get "ammunition" for the fight against decriminalization and to "really know what we are in for" because of decriminalization of marijuana use. - --- MAP posted-by: Jackl