Pubdate: Thu, 09 Oct 2003
Source: Liberal, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2003, Metroland Printing, Publishing and Distributing
Contact:  http://www.yorkregion.com/yr/newscentre/liberal/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2347
Author: Jeff Mitchell
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

POT RULING PUTS COPS BACK ON TRACK

Pot Possession Ruled Illegal For Recreational Users

Tuesday's Appeal Court ruling on marijuana possession clears up uncertainty 
for cops who were left in legal limbo for months, says York Region's police 
chief.

"We have been in a state of confusion, I would suggest," Armand La Barge 
said after the ruling was released. "I know our officers have really 
struggled with this."

The Appeal Court decision clears up constitutional confusion over the 
medical use of marijuana and reinstates the Criminal Code prohibition on 
simple possession.

Possession of small amounts of marijuana had been considered legal after an 
Ontario judge ruled last summer that possessing less than 30 grams of pot 
was no longer against the law.

Tuesday's ruling makes possession illegal for recreational users but 
ensures a stable source of government-approved pot for those prescribed it 
for medicinal purposes.

Chief La Barge is relieved the court ruling has reinstated the law. An 
opponent of decriminalization, he was frustrated by the legal vacuum that 
had existed for the past few months.

Problems for officers ranged from the mundane -- such as people smoking 
dope in public -- to the extreme, he said.

"We had to actually take a report of a theft where two individuals had 
accosted a young person and stole marijuana from a backpack," the chief said.

Federal prosecutor Brent Cumming said the decision clears the way for 
prosecution of new possession charges at the Newmarket courthouse. But it 
remains to be seen whether or not charges left in limbo will be pursued.

"Some cases were stayed pending the (Appeal Court ruling) and others were 
not proceeded with because some judges took the view they were 
unprosecutable," he said.

Other marijuana-related charges, such as trafficking and operating grow 
houses, have been proceeding as normal.

Now local prosecutors are awaiting direction from Ottawa on whether or not 
possession cases that have been stayed will be reopened.

"It's possible, but as of yet undetermined," Mr. Cumming said.

"That is ultimately the department of justice's decision."

Of course, not everyone is pleased with Tuesday's ruling.

"It's good for the medical people; I'm happy for them," said Tim Meehan, of 
the Ontario Consumers for Safe Access to Recreational Cannabis.

But recreational users are back on the wrong side of the law, he noted.

"I'm a little disappointed, but the political battle is just heating up," 
Mr. Meehan said.

"Why is the state getting into the business of people who want to use 
recreational marijuana?"

Still, Mr. Meehan said he is confident that one day soon, marijuana use 
will be decriminalized. But he doesn't expect the Liberals in Ottawa to 
totally legalize pot, suggesting pressure from the United States government 
will nip any such move in the bud.

"(The feds) won't legalize it for obvious reasons, the most obvious being 
the United States," Mr. Meehan said.

Chief La Barge said before decriminalizing marijuana use, Ottawa must put a 
number of measures in place, including a means of detecting and punishing 
those who drive after smoking pot.

"You need to think beyond simply changing the law and (consider) the 
ramifications," the chief said.

Chief La Barge warned decriminalization will increase use, creating higher 
profits for organized crime.

The legal confusion over marijuana possession started last January when 
Ontario Court Justice Sidney Lederman left Canada's pot possession laws in 
tatters because it made it impossible to permit medicinal use while 
prohibiting possession for everyone else.

Justice Lederman gave the government a July 9 deadline to either fix the 
regulations or supply the pot itself to users of medical marijuana.

Ottawa then instituted an interim policy that would see it sell pot at set 
prices to approved users, but also launched an appeal of the ruling, saying 
it shouldn't be forced to provide a legal source of marijuana.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom