cannabisnews.com: Pot Charge Rejected in Potential Landmark Case





Pot Charge Rejected in Potential Landmark Case
Posted by CN Staff on January 02, 2003 at 18:24:51 PT
By CTV News Staff
Source: CTV
Simple possession of small amounts of marijuana may soon be legal in Canada following a decision by a judge in Windsor, Ont., to throw out possession charges against a 16-year-old boy.Justice Douglas Phillips dropped the charge after defence lawyer Brian McAllister argued Ottawa had yet to address the question of simple possession stemming from a landmark case two years ago.
"My interpretation of the law - and (it's) been accepted by the judge - is there's no law in Ontario prohibiting possession of marijuana," McAllister said in an interview. The ruling could spell the end of prohibition on possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana, but McAllister said anyone possessing the drug could still be charged."I doubt police will stop charging people for the moment," he said."(But) from what I understand, there's a number of other judges that have been awaiting this decision and have been holding off hearing other cases that involve the same issue, so it's potentially persuasive on those courts."Federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has said he would like to decriminalize marijuana. However, CTV's Mike Duffy said Justice Department officials in Ottawa considered Thursday's decision "a bit of a step too soon."Duffy also said when it comes to marijuana-related cases, "there's no equal provision or application of the law."The case of the Windsor-area teen, who can't be named because he's a minor, turned on a two-year-old decision in which the Ontario Court of Appeal sided with an epileptic marijuana user.Terry Parker argued the law violated the rights of sick people using pot for medical reasons.In response, the federal government did not change the laws, but instead enacted the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations, intended to allow marijuana use for medical reasons under certain circumstances.McAllister argued that the new regulations don't satisfy the parker ruling, meaning the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act no longer prohibits marijuana possession."Parliament didn't fix the problem in the right way," McAllister said. "They did it by way of regulations and the Court of Appeal (was) required to address the issues with some legislation."The federal regulations that sprang from the Parker decision are also the subject of a constitutional challenge by a group of Toronto marijuana users who say their rights to choose their own form of medical treatment are being violated.Joseph Neuberger, one of several lawyers involved in the Toronto case, said Thursday's decision could be the beginning of the end of Canada's possession laws."Because of the Parker decision, the government had to put in place a regime that allowed proper access for those who needed it for medical purposes," Neuberger said."The argument is the government never complied with that order ...that for simple possession, there really was no law."However, McAllister noted it is still illegal to traffic and grow marijuana.With a report from The Canadian Press.Source: CTV (Canada)Published: Thursday, January 02, 2003Copyright: 2003 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. Website: http://www.ctv.ca/Contact: newsonline ctv.ca Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmPot Charge Rejected in Potential Landmark Case http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15093.shtmlPot Case Could Set Precedent http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15094.shtmlJudge Calls Marijuana Law Invalid http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15092.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by knox42897 on January 02, 2003 at 20:05:10 PT:
"WAIT AND SEE ATTITUDE"
I have a vison of the future for Cannada. We should encourage a wait and see attitude and promote responsible use. This wait and see, don't ask, don't tell SHOW US THE BODIES attitude to be promoted while a long study of somekind of bullshit that further states legalizing marijuana as american$ seem to be migraiting north, just like the mexicans. lol 
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Comment #2 posted by BGreen on January 02, 2003 at 18:39:44 PT
My Dream Outcome Would Be
Simple possession of small amounts of marijuana may soon be legal in CanadaIf simple possession becomes legal, decriminalization is out of the picture.If simple possession becomes legal, the argument could be made that the illegality of production and wholesale marketing of a legal product is in violation of peoples' right to obtain a legal substance.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on January 02, 2003 at 18:26:22 PT
CTV Video Link
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1041533361099_40///?hub=TopStories
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