NEWSHAWK:   Thu, 04 Sep 1997

SOURCE: Reuter

Cannabis crusader sentenced

TORONTO, Sept 5 (Reuter)  A Canadian cannabis crusader sentenced to three
years probation and fined $750 on Friday for possession of and trafficking
marijuana said he is determined to take his case to legalize the drug to
the highest court in Canada. 

    "The appeal has already been filed," said Chris Clay, 26, whose
constitutional challenge to Canada's marijuana laws was rejected on August
14th in a London, Ontario courtroom. 

    With his lawyer Allan Young and medical, sociological and criminology
experts, Clay mounted a comprehensive attack on Canada's marijuana laws.
Although judge John McCart dismissed the challenge, Clay said it was just
the beginning. 

    "Allan was preparing right from the start for the Supreme Court. The
main purpose for the first round is to get a good evidentiary record that
we can draw upon later," said Clay. 

    Clay was arrested in May, 1995 for selling cannabis plant cuttings in
his Hemp Nation store. He has been variously charged with possession,
cultivation and trafficking of marijuana and for selling drug
paraphernalia. 

    His lawyer said Clay is an ideal test case to challenge Canadian
narcotics legislation. 

    "The opportunity I've been waiting for presented itself in Chris," said
Young. "Because he's charged with a serious trafficking offense and not
mere possession, there's no way the court would withdraw the charge once I
filed a constituitional motion." 

    Clay said his resolve to legalize marijuana in Canada, or at least to
decriminalize it, is drawn from two sources. 

     "I want to get buyers away from the black market, where there's no
quality controls and no age restrictions," he said. "I'm also concerned
about the thousands of Canadians who have criminal records just from
marijuana possession." 

    In 1995 almost 30,000 Canadians were charged with cannabis crimes.
According to Statistics Canada, about twothirds of those were possession
charges. 

    Young said he believes that Canada has achieved no benefits from
prohibition and criminal prosecution. 

    "It's about time we turn to 'harm reduction policy', which is a popular
catchphrase in the U.S. now," he said. "It's ineffective to label users
criminals, to put them in jail and then watch them come out and resume
their junkie lifestyles," he said. 

    In terms of conventional process the next step for Clay's case would be
the Ontario Court of Appeal. Young, however, said that there may be a
direct route to the Supreme Court. 

    Clay remains optimistic that his case eventually will reach the Supreme
Court. He cites a 1994 study prepared for Health Canada that shows that 69
percent of Canadians believe that cannabis possession should not be subject
to a jail sentence. 

    "Anything would be a first step," said Clay. "Realistically, we're
hoping for at least decriminalization so users won't be branded as
criminals. Marijuana is a political hot potato. We've tossed it to the
courts and they're trying to toss it back now, but we won't let them," he
said. 

_____________________________________________
   Hemp Nation * http://www.hempnation.com/
Chris Clay * Email