Pubdate: Thu, 05 Sep 2002
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2002 The Province
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc)

MARIJUANA ACTIVISTS ON CLOUD 9 AFTER REPORT

(CP) There was more than the usual buzz yesterday at the downtown Vancouver 
headquarters of the B.C. Marijuana Party.

As news circulated, along with the pungent aroma of burning pot, that a 
Senate committee had recommended the legalization of marijuana, party head 
Marc Emery was busy bouncing among media interviews.

Emery, arguably Canada's best-known pot advocate, was visibly ecstatic and 
admittedly stunned at the way the stereotypical stodgy senators had 
suddenly become, well, dudes.

"It's a beacon of light from the Senate," said Emery, a mayoral candidate 
in the city's November election. "It's wonderful. I was stunned by the 
enlightenment in this report."

Emery called the report the "most far-reaching document of any Western 
country or any place in the world" in regards to marijuana.

"It goes further than Switzerland, further than Holland and is certainly 
light years ahead of the United States," he said.

David Malmo-Levine, another longtime pot legalization activist, said he was 
"ecstatic."

He is heading to the Supreme Court of Canada in a few months on a pot 
conviction, along with two others.

"I'm euphoric. I'm blown away."

Malmo-Levine will argue his own case before the nine justices, as he did 
before the B.C. Court of Appeal, but now bolstered by the Senate 
committee's pot pronouncements.

"The senators have gotten us all high out here on the West Coast," he said. 
"I'm glad that age does not seem to remove common sense from your brain."

Malmo-Levine was found guilty of possession of marijuana for the purpose of 
trafficking.

The B.C. Court of Appeal upheld the conviction, but a dissenting judge 
stated the risk must be significant if Parliament is to intervene 
criminally in people's lives.

The judge wrote that simple possession does not meet that test.

Malmo-Levine will be joined by two other Canadians -- convicted pot smokers 
- -- who will argue Dec. 13 that federal marijuana laws are unconstitutional.

The much anticipated case was among 36 listed yesterday by the Supreme 
Court of Canada in its busy fall docket, which begins Sept. 30.

The appeal covers three cases involving Malmo-Levine, Victor Eugene Caine 
of Langley and Chris Clay of London, Ont.

All three argue that pot, if properly used, is harmless. Moreover, they 
say, laws prohibiting its personal use infringe on the right to life, 
liberty and security guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Scott Hearty, who works at the Marijuana Party Book Shop, passed a joint 
around as he too wondered at the Senate's work. "I'm in awe," he said. 
"They were supposed to consider decriminalization options and they said 
legalization."

Still, Hearty is wary of the reaction in the House of Commons and by the 
U.S. "There will be a lot of pressure on Ottawa from the U.S. government 
and it's hard to say how they'll react."

But Emery said the Senate report might help the Commons.

"The Supreme Court will be greatly emboldened and empowered by nine Senate 
members unanimously saying legalize marijuana," reasoned Emery.

"A lot of us suspect that all along the House of Commons wants the Supreme 
Court to rule on this so they can go to the Americans and say, 'It's not 
our fault. It was that Liberal-minded court.' "
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom