Relax Dudes, U.S. Told

[boulder]

Source: Calgary Sun

 

Loosening Canada's pot laws will improve security at the border, not bog it down, Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham said yesterday.

 

Graham downplayed reports that the U.S. is prepared to re-assign border guards working the U.S.-Mexico border, to work on the northern border should Canada go ahead and decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot.

 

"Some people in the United States have said it will raise problems at the border, so we'll see if that's true," Graham told CTV's Question Period.

 

"I don't believe it will because I think we'll do it in a way which reduces the tensions."

 

Last week, a Commons committee recommended Canada bring in legislation that would mean possession of 30 grams of pot would result in nothing more than a ticket and no criminal record.

 

A Senate committee went further and recommended Ottawa legalize pot altogether.

 

NEW DOPE LAWS BY MARCH

 

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon responded to the Commons report by announcing he's prepared to introduce new pot laws by March.

 

But U.S. drug czar John Walters said an estimated 95% of the high-grade pot, from provinces like British Columbia, is already making its way into his country. "It's a dangerous phenomenon and it's making Canada a supply country," Walters said yesterday.

 

"It's complicating our security at the border, and it's obviously already compounding a problem we're trying to deal with."

 

Liberal MP Paddy Torsney, who chaired the committee, argued Canadians are ready for decriminalization, but not legalization.

 

"We don't think Canadians are there ... There's already other countries in the world that have done some decriminalization, and we need to see if these programs are going to work for Canada.