REGINA - A Regina judge gave Maritime fiddling sensation Ashley MacIsaac a break Tuesday on a marijuana possession charge - but not before asking MacIsaac's lawyer for an autograph from the eccentric musician.

Provincial court Judge Linton Smith quickly added that he was joking.

The Juno-award-winning fiddler was charged July 27 after being stopped by the highway traffic patrol while on his way to a concert in Saskatoon.

Prosecutor Paul Malone, representing the federal Crown, said RCMP pulled over a speeding car on Highway 11 near Aylesbury. When the driver rolled down the window, there was "a strong smell of cannabis," Malone said.

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