cannabisnews.com: Charges Stayed for Man Eating Medicinal Pot










  Charges Stayed for Man Eating Medicinal Pot

Posted by CN Staff on July 06, 2002 at 13:12:18 PT
By Allan Chambers, Journal Staff Writer  
Source: Edmonton Journal  

An Edmonton man who ate two grams of marijuana a day for about 10 years to deal with lower back pain is in limbo after a judge stayed possession charges against him, his lawyer said Friday.Meanwhile, advocates of decriminalization called on the federal government to end the confusion surrounding the medical use of marijuana by legalizing the substance. Brian Oates, the 45-year-old welder at the centre of the case, wasn't available for comment Friday.
But his lawyer, Barry McMullan, said his client "is in a bit of limbo" after police seized 71 plants and a growing operation from his modest north-end home.The trafficking charge was dismissed and the possession charge stayed recently by provincial court judge P.G.C. Ketchum, who accepted a defence argument that Oates' constitutional rights were violated by hitches in a new federal program which grants exemptions permitting the medical use of marijuana.Oates' lawyer argued that delays in federal clinical trials, combined with the reluctance of doctors to sign exemption forms because of opposition by their professional associations, made it impossible for Oates to obtain an exemption. Snipped:Complete Article:  http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/ejn.htmSource: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)Author: Allan Chambers, Journal Staff Writer Published: Saturday, July 06, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Edmonton JournalContact: letters thejournal.southam.caWebsite: http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/Related Articles & Web Sites:Canada Medical Marijuana http://www.medicalmarihuana.ca/Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmMedical Marijuana Advocate Freedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13316.shtmlDope Smoker Off Hookhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13314.shtmlCourt Grants Historic Judicial Stay for Medical Cannabishttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13311.shtml

Home    Comment    Email    Register    Recent Comments    Help





Comment #8 posted by freedom fighter on July 06, 2002 at 15:56:13 PT
p4me, it is not legal to grow
in Mendocino CA, they passed a law telling cops to back off if someone is growing 25 plants or less in their backyard. The law also instruct the D.A. not to use the county's fund to put someone on trail for growing 25 plants or less. The law does not state that it is legal to grow.. It's a start. Not the best but a start in the path of re-legalization of cannabis. At least I hope so.. So go Alaska, Arizona, Mich., Ohio and Nevada... We need more states to join the bandwagon and tell the Fed. to shut UP!ff
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by FoM on July 06, 2002 at 15:20:23 PT
p4me
Here's the date from this article. A formal announcement is expected on July 13.Blair Under Pressure on Soft Policing of Cannabis
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13294.shtml
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by p4me on July 06, 2002 at 15:08:57 PT
UK announcement coming Friday
I read RC's commentary for Friday where he said the London Times said that the class C announcement would be on Wednesday and I asked someone to put up the article at the DE messageboards. ninorc put up a London Times article from July 4th and said that Mr. Cowan had several inaccuracies in his Friday's work.So now ninorc has put up information that the announcement will come Friday but the laws will not change before September 2003. ninorc's post follows: Announcement next Friday?Don Barnard wrote on lca-chat, according to a LCA source:On Friday 12 July 2002 [next Friday] David Blunket is expected to announce a consultation period on any changes he is minded to make to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, after which he will make his recommendations to parliament.
NOTE. Any changes of the law (if any are made) will probably not come about until September 2003 at the earliest.I suspect he will announce on Friday:- He is acting on the advice of the Home Office Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. On 14 March 2002, the Advisory Council reported their view that cannabis should be reclassified as a Class C drug, because the current classification of cannabis (Class B) is disproportionate in relation both to its inherent harmfulness and to the harmfulness of other substances that are currently in Class B.The Home Affairs Select Committee conclusions and recommendations:120 "We accept that cannabis can be harmful and that its use should be discouraged. We accept that in some cases the taking of cannabis can be a gateway to the taking of more damaging drugs. However, whether or not cannabis is a gateway drug, we do not believe there is anything to be gained by exaggerating its harmfulness. On the contrary, exaggeration undermines the credibility of messages that we wish to send regarding more harmful drugs."121 "We support, therefore, the Home Secretary's proposal to reclassify cannabis from Class B to Class C."Therefore, Mr Blunket is likely to announce:- Talks with the police on rolling out the Lambeth Scheme throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. (Scotland has its own rules.)- Differentiating between domestic cultivation and commercial cultivation - probably 7 years for the latter. Or treating the former as simple possession.- Differentiating between domestic supply and commercial supply - probably 7 years for the latter. Or treating the former as simple possession.- Reclassification of cannabis to Class C. In theory, this would result in a maximum sentence of 2 years for possession and 5 years for supply, effectively making cannabis possession offences non-arrestable, although you can still be arrested! (An arrestable offence is one which can result in 5 years or more on conviction for first offence).He is also expected to reject coffee shop and Legal controlsStill you all knew that didn't you? BUT, did you know? the HACMD recommended (January 1979): "Cannabis should be reclassified and prison sentences for first offences should be abolished"?1,2
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by FoM on July 06, 2002 at 15:02:55 PT
p4me
I don't know the answer. In this area it is called an eradication program. They just remove what they find unless it is on a person's property and is easy to prove. They don't look for who planted it but more just getting it pulled up and taken away. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by p4me on July 06, 2002 at 14:54:19 PT
The Weekend Australian
FoM, I was just wondering if a person is safe growing marijuana in Mendecino County. Mendecino County has a county rule not to go after marijuana as in it is legal. So if the county and the feds are not going to arrest anyone, how does the state of California look at it.The Australian mentions cannabis cafes which I never heard of and they are taking in sniffer dogs: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,4657780%255E421,00.htmlAlso the Australian has an article that says that Australia should not blindly support everything that the US is doing and takes a lash to the US policy that ignores internal law regarding nations' sovereignty. It talks about a trade treaty and what is significant is that the US drug companies want them to change their policy that helps people with affordable medicine: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,4651812%255E2702,00.html The following concerns trade policy and our powerful pill industry.
Mr Keating lamented that the International Monetary Fund had become an arm of US policy, and trade barriers were re-emerging, but warned against Australia seeking a free trade deal with the US."Australia's salvation does not lie there," he said."A free trade agreement with the United States that requires us to abandon the social safety net of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme – as the American pharmaceutical industry is demanding – is not worth having."There is a third article regarding helping addicts find jobs: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,4657687%255E421,00.htmlI just wonder when one politician is going to speak out on the power of the US drug industry to dictate policy. The Republican plan to help seniors with medicine is so much of an industry policy that the drug companies have offered to start an ad campaign to support it. It is all but sickening.1,2
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by FoM on July 06, 2002 at 14:06:11 PT
p4me
I'm not sure if this article helps but I was under the impression that they only go after big gardens. I'm not sure if that's what you want to know though.A short portion of the article."At one point, the federal prosecutor's standard was exactly what [Mr. G] said -- 100 plants. If there were fewer than 100 plants, they would decline," he said. "[Today] that is well below what they would normally prosecute. That's not to say they can not or will not prosecute. But as a general rule, they're not interested in grows smaller than 1,000 plants."How Green is The Crop?
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11568.shtml
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by p4me on July 06, 2002 at 13:57:17 PT
I have another question
The best historical hemp timeline I have found is at hempnation.com: http://www.ccguide.org.uk/chronol.html#c30This is copied from that Chronology: 1961 AD : UN Treaty 406 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs seeks to outlaw cannabis use and cannabis cultivation worldwide and eradicate cannabis smoking within 30 years (by 1991). USA representative is Anslinger.
1962 AD : President Kennedy sacks Anslinger. Kennedy using cannabis as a pain relief.Now my question is how did Kennedy get to use marijuana when in 1961 Anslinger got the Single Convention through the UN?I asked question last week and got no response. I am going to delete this link but would like some Saturday warrior to answer a question regarding this article at http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/Stories/0,1413,91~3089~701787,00.htmlThis was read last Monday on Pot-tv News by the Kubbys and here is the article:Friday, June 28, 2002 - 10:59:31 AM MST Marijuana overflight training school conducted on coast
By GLENDA ANDERSON/The Daily JournalMarijuana-seeking helicopters, planes and personnel this week were flying over coastal county areas as part of the annual overflight school hosted by the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office and Drug Enforcement Agency.Six helicopters and six planes from various agencies around the state participated in the school, which teaches officers how to spot marijuana from the air, according to Sgt. Rusty Noe, of the County of Mendocino Marijuana Eradication Team.Later in the season, local and state officers will return to the gardens and eradicate the plants."We've probably identified 80 garden sites in the week," Noe said. "That's kind of average," he added.People annoyed by the aircraft will be pleased to know Thursday was the last day of the training.Noe confirmed there had been complaints about the operations."Whenever you have helicopters, you're going to get complaints," he said.Noe said the aircraft adhered to regulations for flying over highly populated areas a minimum 300-feet high for helicopters, 1,000 feet for planes even though they were flying where there are few homes primarily corporate timberland."It's not effective to fly any lower. We may go down lower to ensure it's marijuana, but we're not going to do that around somebody's residence," Noe said.There are two main reasons not to fly low, he said.One is that it's easier to spot the gardens from high up.The other is safety, Noe said, noting they don't want the helicopters to hit trees, which are fairly tall in the areas on which they focused."It tends to mess 'em up," he said.Besides the DEA and local law enforcement, agencies participating in the training included other county law enforcement departments and the Air National Guard."The people who attend this course generally are involved in marijuana eradication all over California," Noe said.Noe said the training took place in the coastal regions because "that's where the marijuana's being grown this year."He said the officers can see, but aren't interested in, small gardens in backyards, which may or may not be intended for medical marijuana."We're targeting the ones on other people's property," Noe said, noting that's where the large commercial gardens tend to be. "Our concern is not with somebody who has 25 plants in their backyard. I don't have time for that."As it is, officers often can't get to all the big gardens before they're harvested, Noe noted.End of articleNow isn't it legal by Mendocina County law that a citizen can grow 25 plants legally whether or not it is medicinal? And does this mean that the fight is over for the lucky people of Mendocina County? 1,2
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by xxdr_zombiexx on July 06, 2002 at 13:28:35 PT
Menace 
to Federal trial strategy, that is.How, o How to keep a medical defense out of the trial when the man is charged with eating the weed.What is the jury to be told if they ask why the man ate the weed? Is a recreational pot brownie eater a meance to society? If I was a prosecuting attorney, is this the case I would be trying to make to a jury? Brownies as tools of Terror?Great Tabloid headline: Man sentenced to prison for eating Pot.That will look good on the DA's resumé come election time.
[ Post Comment ]




  Post Comment