<STRONG>Vancouver mayor advocates legalizing marijuana</STRONG> <!-- END HEADLINE -->
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<P><SPAN></SPAN><EM class=timedate>Thu Jun 9, 4:05 PM ET</EM> </P>
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<P><BR>OTTAWA (AFP) - The mayor of Vancouver, Canada's third largest city, is urging federal lawmakers to legalize marijuana. <XSCRIPT type="text/xxxxjavascript"></P>
<P>"It's a billion-dollar industry in this province. We (should) tax the living hell out of that and put it into health care," mayor Larry Campbell told reporters Wednesday.</P>
<P>The former federal drug cop and one-time coroner made the comments in support of a comprehensive anti-drug strategy report that will be presented to city council on June 14.</P>
<P>It recommends legalizing and regulating marijuana to let drug counsellors apply education programs to stem drug use akin to a successful strategy used to reduce tobacco smoking and dangerous drinking.</P>
<P>But federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler immediately dismissed the idea, saying: "We don't want to go down the route of legalization."</P>
<P>The Canadian government is planning to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, imposing a fine instead of criminal charges for use, and toughen penalties for growing or selling the drug.</P>
<P>Smuggling arrests and police raids of marijuana growing operations have become so common in Canada, especially in the westernmost province of British Columbia, they are almost an everyday occurrence. In the Vancouver metropolis, 1,731 marijuana growers have been arrested since 2000, police told AFP.</P>
<P>Illegal marijuana cultivation is estimated to add nearly two billion dollars to the local economy annually. US drug enforcement officials estimate as much as 85 percent of British Columbias cannabis harvest is exported to the United States.</P>
<P>Legalizing marijuana, the report concluded, would also keep it out of the realm of criminal organizations.</P></DIV></DIV>
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