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Canada: Pot Law Will Snarl U.S. Border, Says Envoy.
By admin | November 10, 2004
by Tom Blackwell, CanWest News Service,
Victoria Times-Colonist
10 Nov 2004.
The United States ambassador to Canada warned Tuesday the federal plan to decriminalize marijuana would exacerbate already dire congestion problems at the U.S. border.
Paul Cellucci said the bill, if implemented, would leave the impression pot is easier to obtain in Canada, which would put U.S. Customs officers on high alert for smugglers.
The increased inspection and questioning of some people entering the U.S. would slow up crossing points bogged down even now with security related screening, he said during a meeting with the National Post’s editorial board.
“Why, when we’re trying to take pressure off the border, would Canada pass a law that would put pressure on the border?” he asked.
“If people think it’s easier to get marijuana in Canada, then our people at the border are going to be on the lookout and I think they will stop more vehicles, particularly vehicles driven by young people, whether they’re citizens of Canada or the United States.”
Cellucci earlier noted that roads and other infrastructure around the busy Ontario crossings at Windsor and Niagara Falls must be upgraded to ensure smooth flow of traffic.
Current projections would call for such work to be complete by 2013. “We’ll be at gridlock long before then,” he said.
But the ambassador otherwise painted a positive picture of relations between the two countries. Differences over social issues such as same-sex marriage, and the desire of many Canadians that President George Bush be defeated in last week’s election will not undermine the solid ties, he said.
“Canada is a little more liberal than the United States. The United States is a little more conservative,” he said. “We shouldn’t be surprised that a majority of Canadians supported the liberal, as opposed to the conservative.”
Justice Minister Irwin Cotler re-introduced legislation last week that would both make it possible to prosecute possession of marijuana as a non-criminal offence, while stiffening punishment for running grow operations.
Federal officials noted that some American states have already decriminalized simple marijuana possession, a fact acknowledged by Cellucci.
“We’re following the lead of some of the American states,” said Marlene Jennings, the Liberals’ parliamentary secretary on Canada-U.S. relations.
“Law enforcement is very supportive of this. They have taken the position that a lot of resources are spent on charging and prosecuting people in possession of small amounts, when those resources would be better used going after grow ops or going after dealers.”
The Canadian law had been discussed in detail with U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft until he announced his resignation Tuesday, and Tom Ridge, chief of homeland security, said Mylene Dupere, a spokeswoman for Cotler.
“Both expressed a full understanding of the law,” she said.
Meanwhile, Canada is as committed as the United States to improving traffic flow across the border, she said.
Alex Swann, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan questioned the suggestion the law could put more drugs on the street, noting the government is going to crack down on grow ops, and that even possession will still be illegal. A recent assessment of cross-border drug movement estimated that only two per cent of marijuana heading into the United States was Canadian grown, he added.
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