Pubdate: Thu, 24 Apr 2003
Source: Aldergrove Star (CN BC)
Copyright: 2003 Central Fraser Valley Star Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.aldergrovestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/989
Author: Cheryl Wierda
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

CANADA'S HIGHEST COURT TO HEAR MARIJUANA CASE

An Abbotsford lawyer will have a second opportunity to challenge the 
constitutionality of Canada's pot laws this spring, but worries that a 
delay in the federal justice minister's decision on the decriminalization 
of marijuana will delay the case again.

Lawyer John Conroy is representing Victor Eugene Caine, one of three 
appellants claiming the cannabis laws violate rights protected under 
Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Caine was busted for marijuana possession almost 10 years ago, when RCMP 
officers in White Rock noted a strong smell of marijuana coming from a van 
in which Caine and another man were parked.

The partly smoked joint Caine produced for officers weighed 0.5 grams.

David Malmo-Levine of Vancouver and Ontario's Christopher James Clay are 
the other men challenging the constitutionality validity of the law.

Conroy was originally scheduled to argue the case on behalf of Caine in 
December.

However, the case was adjourned, primarily because the Supreme Court of 
Canada judges were not comfortable with the discrepancy between the 
government's stand in court and Justice Minister Martin Cauchon's position.

Last winter, Cauchon said he was considering decriminalizing the possession 
of a few joints.

That decision has reportedly been put off until summer - after Conroy's 
client is scheduled in Canada's highest court. Conroy learned last week 
that the case has been re-scheduled for May 6.

It will be the first time a constitutional challenge of Canada's marijuana 
laws is heard in the country's highest court.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom