cannabisnews.com: Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Pot Law Case





Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Pot Law Case
Posted by CN Staff on May 06, 2003 at 16:46:58 PT
By The CTV.ca News Staff
Source: CTV
Canada's highest court is hearing arguments about whether to erase criminal penalties against three people for simple marijuana possession. At the same time, the federal government is considering whether to rewrite the laws and de-criminalize pot possession.The supreme court of Canada is hearing three requests to throw out criminal penalties for simple possession. The argument is that the penalties violate the charter of rights. But government lawyers are arguing the pot law should be upheld, even though their bosses are considering changes. 
Much of the legal argument centres on the question of whether smoking marijuana does harm to society.Malmo-Levine is one of those who has taken his crusade against federal marijuana laws to the Supreme Court of Canada. On Tuesday, he made his pitch for striking down the current prohibition on pot use as an infringement of the Charter of Rights. Nobody should be jailed, he said, for exercising a "right to relaxation and well-being'' that doesn't harm anybody else."We should not let anyone in this country point their finger, yell 'criminal,' and then lock up thousands of people . . . This court must protect human autonomy, which is in essence the right to pick and choose our own tastes, our own pleasures.''Malmo-Levine wants the court to strike down all criminal sanctions against marijuana, including penalties for growers and traffickers. Lawyers for the others involved in the case are focusing instead on whether people convicted of simple possession should face jail time and be saddled with a criminal record.Toronto lawyer Paul Burstein argued that the government has been overstepping its legal authority for the last 80 years by keeping a law on the books that provides for jail terms in simple possession cases -- even though judges rarely impose such sentences nowadays.The cases involve:* Christopher Clay runs Hemp Nation in London, Ont., a store he started with a government loan. Clay, who has since moved to B.C., used the London business to sell marijuana seeds and seedlings in a deliberate challenge to federal law. He was fined $750 and given three years probation. * Victor Caine was arrested by a police officer who caught him after he lit up a joint in his van in a parking lot in White Rock, B.C. He had 0.5 grams of pot in his possession, was convicted at trial and given an absolute discharge. * David Malmo-Levine runs the Harm Reduction Club, a non-profit co-operative in East Vancouver that offered advice on how to use marijuana moderately and safely and supplied pot at cost to some 1,800 members. He got a one-year suspended sentence. The court reserved judgment and will likely take several months to deliver its ruling. Justice Minister Martin Cauchon and Prime Minister Jean Chretien have both said their government will introduce legislation soon to decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot for personal use. Possession would be treated as a minor offence, like a traffic violation, subject to ticketing and fines, not a criminal record.Critics say there is no guarantee the long-promised bill will actually get through Parliament before the next federal election is called, likely next year.With a report from Canadian PressSource: CTV (Canada)Published: May 6, 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 Laws Challenged at Supreme Court http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16206.shtmlRelaxed Dope Activist Hits High Courthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16202.shtmlActivist Brings Pot Argument To Supreme Court http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16201.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 06, 2003 at 16:49:01 PT
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