Pubdate: Wed, 17 Jul 2002
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2002, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Section: Page A3
Author: Brian Laghi
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

CAUCHON ADMITS HE SMOKED POT; QUESTIONS POSSESSION LAW

OTTAWA -- Canada's top lawmaker admitted yesterday that he smoked pot in 
his youth and questioned the suitability of a possession law that can play 
havoc with an offender's employment.

"Yes, of course," Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said yesterday when asked 
if he had ever smoked cannabis. "I'm 39 years old. I've been elected first 
when I was 31 years old and yes, of course I tried it before, obviously."

Mr. Cauchon raised the possibility earlier this week of decriminalizing 
possession of the drug, saying it is applied unevenly.

Legal experts have said that, although few individuals continue to be 
punished with jail time, the stigma of a criminal record can close certain 
avenues of employment and make it difficult to travel to the United States.

Asked if it is appropriate that being convicted of simple possession should 
limit a person's career, Mr. Cauchon said that was one reason MPs and 
senators have been asked to look at the issue.

"That's why actually there are two standing committees having a look at it 
and they will come forward with their own recommendations and conclusions."

Mr. Cauchon, a lawyer, said he couldn't tell from his own experience 
whether smoking cannabis is harmful.

Alan Young, a civil liberties lawyer, said that there are several ways in 
which being found guilty of possession can damage a person's future 
employment prospects.

For example, a private moving company might refuse a job applicant work 
because a criminal record makes it difficult to bond a person. The federal 
government often asks prospective employees about criminal offences, he added.

Travelling to the United States can also be difficult, Mr. Young said. In 
the late 1990s, for example, some U.S. border personnel began asking 
Canadian travellers whether they had ever smoked pot, in an effort to try 
to slow down importation of Canadian-grown pot, he said.

"If people were stupid enough to say yes, they were often barred."

A spokesman for the Quebec Bar Association said the society punishes a 
lawyer only when it becomes clear an offence impedes his or her ability to 
do their job. That could cover a Crown lawyer prosecuting drug crimes, Leon 
Bedard said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jean Chretien told reporters that he has never 
smoked dope.

"When I was young the word marijuana did not exist," he said after emerging 
from a meeting of the federal cabinet. "I didn't know. I learned about the 
word long after that. It was too late to try it."

Mr. Cauchon's decision to consider decriminalization was met with deep 
skepticism yesterday by representatives of Canadian police forces.

"We have to be clear that marijuana is a mind-altering drug," said Mike 
Niebudek, vice-president of the Canadian Police Association.
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