cannabisnews.com: Win Sparks Legal Debate





Win Sparks Legal Debate
Posted by CN Staff on January 10, 2003 at 07:40:56 PT
By Tobi Cohen, Ottawa Sun
Source: Ottawa Sun 
Pot activist Rick Reimer's courtroom victory to toke and drive might not be binding, but those on both sides of the debate call his win an impetus for change. The lower court ruling, which found there wasn't enough evidence to convict Reimer of impaired driving, serves as a wake-up call that more research and new laws are needed -- especially as the federal government debates decriminalizing the drug. 
The former Ottawa Valley lawyer and multiple sclerosis sufferer who has a medical exemption to smoke marijuana was stopped by police last February after he was seen swerving over the centre line of Hwy. 58 near Killaloe. While Staff Sgt. Marc Pinault of the Ottawa Police drug squad doesn't think Reimer's case will open the floodgates for people who want to toke and drive, it does highlight the problems that police and courts face in trying to prosecute such individuals.  SERIOUS OFFENCE "No doubt there's people out there always reaching out for things. They might see something like this and will use it to whatever advantage, but impaired driving by drugs is no less serious than impairment by alcohol," he said. "The threshold for finding people guilty of impaired driving is very, very technical." Raynald Marchand of the Canada Safety Council agreed with Judge Bruce McPhee that more research is necessary. However, he also suggested situations such as Reimer's might be better handled under the Highway Traffic Act. Patients prescribed drugs that could interfere with their ability to drive have long been reported to the ministry of transportation by their own physicians and Marchand thinks the same could be done for drivers with marijuana exemptions. Under the Highway Traffic Act, such people can be subjected to a test and can have their licences suspended or revoked. Marijuana champion Mike Foster said he likes to "take our victories in the marijuana movement one little hurrah at a time." The owner of the Bank St. hemp shop Crosstown Traffic said the Reimer case really highlights the need for a national study on the effects of pot on driving. "I think it shows we're actually taking it seriously and that we're actually going to look at these issues. It's a lot better than it was 10 years ago when I first opened my store and politicians wouldn't even talk about cannabis." In the absence of breathalyzer-like technology, director Neev Tapiero of the organization Cannabis As Living Medicine thinks a standard field sobriety test is a good starting point to detect marijuana impairment. "If you can't pass a field sobriety test for whatever reason, regardless of whether it's cannabis, prescriptions or alcohol, you shouldn't be driving," he said. Note: Studies on toking and driving needed: Lobbyist.Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON)Author: Tobi Cohen, Ottawa SunPublished: Friday, January 10, 2003 Copyright: 2003 Canoe Limited PartnershipContact: editor sunpub.comWebsite: http://www.fyiottawa.com/ottsun.shtmlRelated Articles & Web Sites:CALMhttp://www.cannabisclub.ca/Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmSmoking Motorist Not Guilty of Impaired Drivinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15146.shtmlPot No Impairment, Toker Tells Hearing http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15140.shtmlNew Laws Needed for Drivers Smoking Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15034.shtml 
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on January 10, 2003 at 12:29:51 PT
Related Article from Snipped Source
Judge Tells Feds to Provide Legal MarijuanaPoor marijuana access rules force sick to use drug dealers, judge says. 
Shannon Kari, The Ottawa Citizen Friday, January 10, 2003 
 
TORONTO -- The federal government's marijuana medical access regulations were declared unconstitutional yesterday because they force sick people to rely on "drug dealers" to supply their medicine.Complete Article: http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=90e4bb32-7c0a-4129-8950-7a974d6786dc
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Comment #2 posted by p4me on January 10, 2003 at 09:12:48 PT
Some Friday media bashing
IronicTimes.com is a website that post headlines as if a newspaper with their ironic commentary illustrating a different point of view. On page3 of the current issue the true headline in an article would really be something like "The seven things the media hates to mention."From http://www.ironictimes.com/0121-p3.htmlTop Seven Things We'd Rather Not Hear About 1. The mess in Colombia2. What's going on in Africa3. How we're doing in the Drug War4. The CIA and the Baath Party5. Worldwide overfishing6. Third World factories7. Why everybody hates us William Rivers Pitt is a school teacher making a name for himself on the Internet and he has a fine commentary up atr Truthout- http://www.truthout.com/docs_02/011003A.wrp.stand.htm - called "The Stand"There are some people that would say The No Child Left Behind Policy of the misadministration is to set the system up for massive defined failure that will usher in vouchers. Anyway, if the schools really taught to inform I think many teachers today would be talking about this article by Chris White that paints a big picture using some black paint: http://www.counterpunch.org/white01092003.html The title is "Is War Still a Racket?: An Ex-Marine Compares Gen. Smedley Butler's 1933 with 2003" 
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Comment #1 posted by p4me on January 10, 2003 at 08:19:22 PT
They're mad because they can't shoot him
In North Carolina the only thing worse than a DWI- driving while impaired- is passing a stopped school bus. It is one serious and costly conviction and generally if you hand over a wad of money for a lawyer they will water down a first offence to careless and reckless driving. An officer is supposed to have probable cause to pull a person, but that is subject to violation in the police states. This guy got pulled because he swirved or something. Now if he were speeding they could have written him a ticket or if he crossed the center line they could have given him a ticket. If he made an unsafe move they could have given him a ticket. They seem to be upset that they cannot bury him because he is part of the cannabis culture and are not happy with all the other laws that regulate driving that can easily be recorded with a camera or radar.
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