The Canadian government has signalled its intention to re-introduce legislation to decriminalise the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Similar legislation, which drew sharp criticism from US officials and raised fears of tightened security at the Canada-US border, got scuttled by the June federal election, which automatically kills all outstanding bills.
Ottawa said the new marijuana bill would be introduced this afternoon. The idea is to replace criminal sanctions with fines for small amounts - 15 grams or about half an ounce in the previous legislation.
US drug enforcement officials have warned that the relaxed laws could mean a surge in smuggling of potent Canadian marijuana - its already a business worth about C$5 billion (€1.28 billion) in the Pacific province of British Columbia.
Opponents in both countries have also warned this could lead to longer lineups at the border because of tighter security. Canada and the United States have a trading relationship worth more than $1 billion (€.64 billion) a day.
But Prime Minister Paul Martin has said he did not want young users to have criminal records that could hurt their job prospects and block entry into the United States.
Canadian police have also warned that reliable tests need to be developed for marijuana-impaired driving before decriminalising the drug. To that end, the government said it was introducing a separate bill on Monday regarding drug-impaired driving.