Pubdate: Mon, 22 Dec 2003
Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
Copyright: 2003 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274
Author: Janice Tibbetts

POT RULING EXPECTED TUESDAY

As the Martin government moves to relax marijuana laws, the Supreme Court 
of Canada will decide tomorrow whether to give pot advocates the big prize: 
legalization.

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.

"It sounds like the Liberals are going to decriminalize, and that's a step 
in the right direction, but ultimately legalization is the solution we're 
looking for."

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 said 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 government 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?" Conroy asked. "Are fatty foods going to be 
next? The obesity problem is a lot worse that the drug problem."

Conroy is the lawyer for Victor Caine, who was convicted of possession for 
sharing a joint with a friend in his car while parked at a beach near 
Vancouver.

The third litigant is David Malmo-Levine, who formed the Vancouver-based 
Harm Reduction Club for marijuana smokers.

The federal government plans to impose fines rather than criminal records 
on people caught with small amounts of marijuana.

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler stressed that lawmakers oppose giving pot 
smokers free rein.

"This is how Parliament has spoken on this question and we will wait to see 
what the court will say," he said in an interview.

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," the Justice Department's submission said.

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.

Although it is rare, judges can impose prison terms of up to seven years 
for marijuana possession.

Prime Minister Paul Martin said last week that the government will revive a 
marijuana bill that 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.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens