A higher court has upheld the decision of a Summerside judge to stay a simple pot possession charge against an Island teenager earlier this year. March 14, Judge Ralph C. Thompson stayed the simple possession of marijuana charge in Summerside's Provincial Court. Thompson had ruled it wouldn't be fair to prosecute him when Ontarians (at the time) had immunity from the same charge. In his ruling, Thompson had referred to cases from Ontario that had effectively struck down the pot possession law. [continues 435 words]
ELMSDALE -- One hundred and twenty-eight marijuana plants, all near full maturity, will be going up in smoke -- in an incinerator -- as soon as the West Prince detachment of the RCMP obtains a Health Canada destruction order. Officers with the detachment gathered up the plants during the past week. They come from three outdoor growing plots in Fortune Cove, Kildare and Roxbury. A charge of producing a controlled substance is pending against one individual and the investigation is continuing. Const. Scott Stevenson, one of the officers involved in the collection of the illegal plants, said police acted upon tips received from Crime Stoppers and calls to the detachment and went out and investigated. Some of the plants were grown in a garden, mixed in with corn and tomatoes, while others were grown in wooded area. The plants in the garden were the only weeds in the otherwise well-weeded garden, he remarked. A search warrant was obtained in one of the areas. [continues 245 words]
Crown attorneys will still pursue marijuana possession cases, despite recent legal decisions, a senior member of the federal prosecution service said Tuesday. Paula Taylor, the Halifax-based supervisor of legal agents for the Department of Justice, works with the private-sector lawyers who prosecute federal cases such as those involving the Controlled Drug and Substances Act. Marijuana is a banned substance under the act but the legal waters around the drug have become murky. The federal government has been talking for months about the possibility of decriminalizing possession of small amounts of cannabis and of allowing consumption of marijuana for medical reasons. [continues 448 words]
Playing with pot can still put Islanders in a predicament with the police, according to a news release issued by the Charlottetown Police Department Thursday. The cops were responding to a pro-pot protest in front of the city's police department Wednesday. Marc Emery, a Vancouver resident on a cross-country tour to protest Canada's pot laws, smoked marijuana in front of the police station. Similar actions in Moncton, Winnipeg and Regina got Emery arrested, however Charlottetown police ignored the smoke up. [continues 475 words]
A man hailed as the prince of pot taunted Charlottetown city police Wednesday by smoking marijuana in front of their police headquarters. The police ignored Marc Emery, a Vancouver resident on a cross-country tour to protest Canada's pot laws. Emery plans to smoke pot on the front steps of police stations across the country. He's already been arrested in Moncton, Winnipeg and Regina. However, police officers in P.E.I.'s capital city seemed unwilling to get in the middle of Emery's fight. [continues 593 words]
Charlottetown -- The federal Justice Department says it will stay all charges of marijuana possession on Prince Edward Island involving less than 30 grams until the law is clarified. Recently, a judge in Summerside, PEI, stayed a marijuana charge on grounds that rulings in Ontario have raised doubts about federal marijuana laws. The Crown is appealing that ruling on the Island, but a date has not been set. In the meantime, prosecutors have begun staying other charges. One case occurred in Charlottetown on Monday. Three others were stayed last week in Summerside. Justice officials insist that doesn't mean the charges are being dropped. Staying a charge still allows them to reactivate it within a year, depending on what happens with the appeal. [end]
Joint Operation Between RCMP And Other Forces Leads To The Arrests Of 24 Suspects From P.E.I., N.S. And Ontario More than three years of police work by the RCMP and other law enforcement agencies paid off Tuesday as police swooped down on residences in P.E.I., Nova Scotia and Ontario, arresting 24 suspects in a major drug operation. Cpl. Ken Murray, a spokesman for the RCMP'S drug awareness section in Charlottetown, said those arrested were part of a high-profile drug ring that has been moving drugs into P.E.I. from Ontario and Nova Scotia for some time. [continues 511 words]
CHARLOTTETOWN -- The federal Justice Department says it will stay all charges of marijuana possession on Prince Edward Island involving less than 30 grams until the law is clarified. Recently, a judge in Summerside, P.E.I., stayed a marijuana charge on grounds that rulings in Ontario have raised doubts about federal marijuana laws. The Crown is appealing that ruling on the Island, but a date has not been set. In the meantime, prosecutors have begun staying other charges. One case occurred in Charlottetown on Monday. Three others were stayed last week in Summerside. Justice officials insist that doesn't mean the charges are being dropped. Staying a charge still allows them to reactivate it within a year, depending on what happens with the appeal. [end]
The federal Crown has officially launched an appeal of a judge's decision to stay a possession of marijuana charge in Summerside's Provincial Court. March 14, Judge Ralph C. Thompson stayed a simple possession of marijuana charge against a 19-year-old Islander, ruling it wouldn't be fair to prosecute him when Ontarians have immunity from the same charge. The Crown filed its Notice of Appeal of that ruling at the P.E.I. Supreme Court in Summerside Friday. The case will be heard by the P.E.I. Supreme Court (Trial Division) at a date yet to be determined. [continues 429 words]
Three more men had charges of pot possession against them stayed in Provincial Court in Summerside Wednesday, as the Crown awaits higher court rulings. Friday, Judge Ralph C. Thompson had stayed a simple possession of marijuana charge against a 19-year-old man in the court. Thompson ruled it wouldn't be fair to prosecute him when Ontarians have immunity from the same charge. In his decision, Thompson had referred to Ontario cases. In 2000, that province's Court of Appeal said the possession of marijuana charge violated the rights of Terry Parker, by preventing him from legally accessing marijuana for medicinal reasons. [continues 500 words]
Editor: Borden-Carleton Police Chief Jamie Fox misunderstands the most recent court decision to concur that our laws prohibiting the possession of 30 grams or less of cannabis are invalid. (Police chief urges appeal of marijuana case decision', March 18, 2003). Remarked Fox, "This matter is no different than the provincial government making allowances for some people who have a medical condition under the Highway Traffic Act regarding the wearing of seat-belts." Fox's analogy would be correct if it remained illegal to obtain a car that allowed people to drive without a seat-belt and if those who sought seat-belt exemptions had to find a general practitioner and two specialists willing to state that the benefits of driving without a seat-belt exceed the risks, despite warnings from their insurers and the Canadian Medical Association that making such statements would expose them to legal liability. [continues 76 words]
Borden-Carleton's Jamie Fox Says Provincial Court Decision To Stay Marijuana Possession Charge Laid Against 19-Year-Old Is Wrong SUMMERSIDE - Borden-Carleton Police Chief Jamie Fox is urging the Crown to appeal Friday's decision in provincial court here to stay a charge of possession against a 19-year-old. In an 11-page decision, Judge Ralph C. Thompson stayed the charge against the teenager who had been arrested for possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana last fall. [continues 685 words]
A judge has stayed a marijuana possession charge against an Island teen, ruling it wouldn't be fair to prosecute him when approximately 12 million other Canadians have immunity from the same charge. In Provincial Court in Summerside Friday, Judge Ralph C. Thompson stayed proceedings against a 19-year-old after considering cases in Ontario. The young Islander had been charged with possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana in the fall. His defence lawyer, Clifford McCabe, had argued in a previous hearing that the charge should be quashed, because it's not a valid offence based on the Ontario cases. [continues 539 words]
BORDEN-CARLETON--Borden-Carleton Police Chief Jamie Fox has promised a zero-tolerance approach for persons charged with simple possession of a drug substance following a provincial court case in Summerside in which a 19-year-old Island man's marijuana possession charge was stayed, after precedents set in Ontario court cases. Fox said his officers have been instructed to apply as many charges as possible to anyone who is found with drugs in their possession. For instance, in the past, if a motorist was pulled over by police after speeding or travelling through a Stop Sign and a small quantity of marijuana and hashish was found, only the more serious charge - possession of that drug, would be laid. [continues 297 words]
Cites Similar Cases Thrown Out In Ontario SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. -- A Prince Edward Island judge has stayed a teen's marijuana possession charge, ruling it would be unfair to prosecute him when other Canadians have immunity from the same charge. Provincial Court Judge Ralph C. Thompson stayed the proceedings against the 19-year-old after considering cases in Ontario. The teen was charged with possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana in the fall. In his decision, the judge explained an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling, known as the Parker decision, effectively struck down the law that prohibits simple possession. [continues 119 words]
SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. -- A Prince Edward Island judge stayed a teen's marijuana possession charge, ruling it would be unfair to prosecute him when other Canadians have immunity from the same charge. Provincial Court Judge Ralph C. Thompson stayed proceedings against the 19-year-old on Friday after considering cases in Ontario. The teen was charged with possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana in the fall. Defence lawyer Clifford McCabe argued in a previous hearing the charge should be quashed because it's not a valid offence based on the Ontario cases. [continues 137 words]
SUMMERSIDE - A provincial court judge has stayed a marijuana possession charge against P.E.I. resident Ronald Stavert, dealing another blow to Canada's pot laws. Judge Ralph Thompson cited an Ontario court ruling which declared possession of marijuana unconstitutional. The decision does not mean Stavert is innocent or guilty of the charge, but that there is not enough evidence to proceed with a prosecution. The charge of simple possession was for having under 30 grams of pot. Since no plea was entered in the case, the exact quantity of marijuana Stavert had is not known. [continues 302 words]
CHARLOTTETOWN - Two major drug busts in the province in the past week may slow down the influx of illegal drugs to the Island but they won't completely stop people from trafficking, said Cpl. Ken Murray of the RCMP's drug awareness section. RCMP, along with the Summerside police, arrested 33-year-old Karl Robert Kenny of Augustine Cove Friday after searching his home and uncovering a marijuana home grow operation worth more than $75,000. Police seized 250 plants along with a large sum of cash and grow equipment. [continues 731 words]
Editor: Referring to 'Binns urges feds to move with caution on pot laws' (The Guardian, Dec. 13, 2002). One has to wonder what the outcome may be if the laws about using marijuana are even somewhat relaxed in P.E.I. and/or in Canada. The U.S. has been quick to jump on the recommendation already. When one considers the many problems that the health department and government officials have faced, and are still facing, about cigarette smoking over past years, one has to wonder what new problems may be faced if pot is allowed to be used more freely as a result of current laws being relaxed. L.C. MacNeill, Charlottetown [end]
The Province's Chief Medical Officer Is Among Those Advocating A Needle Exchange Program For P.E.I. To Stop The Spread Of Diseases Recovering drug addict Daniel Nowogorski says the number - and diversity - of IV users in the province should serve as a sharp stab in the gut to the many Islanders oblivious to the alarming problem. "See, a lot of people have to understand that it's not just a typical picture of a junkie," he said. "It's not this homeless guy standing on a street corner or shooting it in alleyways. It's professionals, it's mothers, it's fathers, it's brothers, it's sisters - and people we talk to every day of the week." [continues 1488 words]
Inside Prince Edward Island
