Prime Minister Jean Chretien joked he would try marijuana once it's decriminalized in an interview. Joke or not, the remark has stirred up some heat as he tries to get his government's new marijuana bill through Parliament.

The Prime Minister's Office said his comments were "tongue-in-cheek." Later, Chretien said he didn't believe he was sending out the wrong message.

In the interview, published in The Winnipeg Free Press on Friday, Chretien said decriminalizing marijuana is just putting the laws in synch with the times.

"It is still illegal, but do you think Canadians want their kids, 18 years-old or 17, who smoke marijuana once and get caught by the police, to have a criminal record for the rest of their life?" he told the paper when asked how he feels about the bill.

"What has happened is so illogical that they are not prosecuted anymore. So let's make the law adjust to the realities. It is still illegal, but they will pay a fine. It is in synch with the times."

Chretien also joked that he might give pot a try once it is no longer a criminal offence. Under the new law, pot users would pay a fine if caught with a small amount.

"I don't know what is marijuana. Perhaps I will try it when it will no longer be criminal. I will have my money for my fine and a joint in the other hand," he said in the interview.

Few people in the Bush administration are laughing at the bill, which favours a ticket system rather than a criminal charge. It would end criminal penalties for anyone found with 15 grams of marijuana. However, the drug would remain illegal.

The bill is one of two controversial laws that Chretien hopes to pass before his scheduled retirement in February 2004.

The other seeks to legalize same-sex unions. Chretien told the Winnipeg Free Press that while he is a Catholic, he represents many different kinds of people and religions.

"For us, my mentality, my religion belongs to me and I will deal personally with that," he said.

"I am a public person in a very diverse society, and I don't think I can impose every limit of my morality on others, because I don't want others to impose their morality on me."

With a report from CTV's Jill Macyshon