Pubdate: Tue, 23 Dec 2003
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2003 The Ottawa Citizen
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Janice Tibbetts

SUPREME COURT TO RULE ON MARIJUANA BAN

Imposing Jail Time, Criminal Record Violates Rights, Litigants Argue

The Supreme Court of Canada will decide today whether simple possession of 
marijuana should be a crime.

The long-awaited rulings in three cases will be the Supreme Court's first 
test of the constitutionality of the country's 80-year-old ban on marijuana 
possession.

"This is very significant," said Chris Clay, a B.C. web-page designer who 
owned the Great Canadian Hemporium marijuana paraphernalia and seed store 
in London, Ont., before police shut it down.

Mr. Clay, 32, laughed at the prospect of sticking a bit of weed in the 
Christmas pudding if the ruling goes his way. He is one of three litigants 
who argue that threatening people with a criminal record and jail time for 
what they contend is a victimless crime breaches Charter of Rights 
guarantees of life, liberty and security of the person.

The federal Justice Department counters that the Supreme Court should give 
Parliament as much leeway as possible in crafting drug policy.

"All three appellants seek to elevate a recreational pursuit to a 
constitutional right," federal lawyer David Frankel says in a written 
submission to the Supreme Court. "There is no free-standing right to get 
stoned."

A key question in the appeal is whether the government must demonstrate a 
serious health risk if it wants to continue to ban marijuana possession.

The state has "no right to tell people what they can put in their bodies," 
lawyer John Conroy argued at the Supreme Court hearing last spring.

"Where do you draw the line?" asked Mr. Conroy, lawyer for litigant Victor 
Caine, who was convicted of possession. "Are fatty foods going to be next? 
The obesity problem is a lot worse than the drug problem."

The much anticipated judgment from the Supreme Court comes as the federal 
government plans to reintroduce a hotly debated bill to decriminalize 
possession of marijuana in small amounts. People caught with small amounts 
would be given fines instead.

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler stressed that lawmakers oppose giving 
marijuana users free rein. "This is how Parliament has spoken on this 
question and we will wait to see what the court will say," he said.

Prime Minister Paul Martin said last week that the government will revive 
the marijuana bill, which died in November when Parliament was prorogued. 
The government's proposal, however, could be a watered-down version of the 
former bill, which proposed to decriminalize possession of 15 grams or 
less, about the equivalent of 15 cigarettes.

Despite its plans, the government has filed a report with the Supreme Court 
that connects marijuana use to driving accidents, upper-airway cancer, 
psychiatric problems and drug addiction, among other things.

"Marijuana is not a benign substance and potentially is more harmful than 
presently known," says the Justice Department's submission.

Several judges during the spring hearing were frosty to the arguments of 
the marijuana lobby. But they also challenged the government's assertion 
that it can criminalize any behaviour it sees fit, as long as the decision 
is a rational one.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman