cannabisnews.com: Pot Charges on Hold in 80 London Cases





Pot Charges on Hold in 80 London Cases
Posted by CN Staff on May 29, 2003 at 07:44:31 PT
By Jennifer O'Brien, Free Press Reporter 
Source: London Free Press 
A day after Ottawa introduced its new marijuana law, a lower court ruling on Canada's pot laws lit up the London courthouse yesterday -- with drug charges stayed against dozens of people. In a day unmatched in any other court in Ontario, a federal prosecutor stayed charges against more than 80 people facing counts of possession of less than 30 grams of pot.
"What happened in London is unusual because there were a number of charges put over (for months) en masse," said Jim Leising, a Justice Department official responsible for drug prosecutions in Ontario. "This is part of the fallout from a (court) decision, but to my knowledge, London was the only place where they were being saved up in one block." The stays -- they deactivate charges for one year, when they'll be dismissed if prosecutors don't reinstate them -- are based on a May 16 Windsor court decision when Superior Court Justice Steven Rogin said simple pot possession is no longer against the law. Several London cases had since been stayed. But the onslaught came yesterday during a scheduled drug court, coming coincidentally one day after Ottawa introduced a bill to decriminalize possession of 15 grams or less of marijuana, making it a minor offence punishable by a fine. London lawyers had been adjourning possession trials as they awaited the Windsor decision, said Jack Hardy, president of the city's Criminal Lawyers' Association. "We've been putting all the simple possession (charges) over to the same date, some of them have been going for months," Hardy said. "From a defence point of view, if you've got a person guilty of the offence, why plead him guilty to it when a court says it doesn't exist any more," he explained. Hardy said yesterday's events were "a big deal," especially in light of U.S. border crackdowns since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "If you have a conviction for simple possession, you will not be able to get over to the States," he said. Outside the courtroom, London artist Derrick Bell, 29, said he was "so relieved" to have his charges stayed. "For someone who is not a criminal, it is a life-altering experience to be charged . . . and treated like a criminal," he said. "It's a really scary experience." Bell said he'd been smoking pot with some students while giving painting lessons at his home, when police knocked at the door in February 2002. "It was just a little bit of pot. We're artists," he said. "It's better than alcohol, I think." Leising however, said prosecutors "do still think there is a prohibition against using marijuana," and plan to appeal the Windsor decision. But when asked whether prosecutors will reactivate charges on all the stayed cases in the event of an appeal, Leising said they will be dealt with on a "case-by-case approach." Source: London Free Press (CN ON)Author: Jennifer O'Brien, Free Press Reporter Published: Thursday, May 29, 2003 Copyright: 2003 The London Free Press Contact: letters lfpress.comWebsite: http://www.fyilondon.com/londonfreepress/ Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmCritics Denounce New Drug Policyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16425.shtmlLegalize Pot, Says Mayor Campbellhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16423.shtmlA Realistic Revision of The Cannabis Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16421.shtml 
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Comment #3 posted by WolfgangWylde on May 29, 2003 at 10:37:18 PT
How does this really...
...work? Screw staying the charges. That just gives them a chance to try you later. Demand a trial now, while the law is null and void.
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Comment #2 posted by Jose Melendez on May 29, 2003 at 08:50:36 PT
Note: hemp foods from Canada still legal in U.S.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Cut back on foods like french fries made with artery-clogging fats and eat more fish and other foods that contain healthy fats, the government may start advising consumers. The White House Office of Management and Budget recommended in a letter Wednesday that the departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services emphasize eating foods with omega-3 fats that lower the risk of heart disease and warn against eating trans fatty acids, which increase the risk.(Snipped) 
White House recommends Cannabis based foods... sort of
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on May 29, 2003 at 08:35:36 PT:
The Berlin Wall, redux
First, little hammers, then sledges, then power tools, then the cranes, then huge slabs come crashing down.First, the arrests. Then the lawsuits. Then the Supreme Court challenges. Now the conviction stays; anyone want to bet the entire matter becomes moot in few months, when people who are already free to use cannabis right now because the laws have been struck down have shown the rest of the population that Uncle's Chicken Little squawking was unfounded and Canadian society didn't collapse?To paraphrase a famous saying: "Oh to be in Canada, now that Spring is here!" A Spring like none seen in America for a long time; a rebirth of freedom.
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