HIGH COURT?

Justice Rules Canda's Pot Rules Invalid

by Preston Peet for Hightimes.com

Jan. 3, 2003
posted at DrugWar.com Jan. 4, 2003

In a much-anticipated ruling on January 2, Justice Douglas Phillips of the Ontario Court of Justice Youth Court threw out charges of possession of about 5 grams of marijuana against a 16-year-old youth from Windsor, ON. Ruling that Canada’s pot laws are invalid, Justice Phillips said that Parliament had “failed to address problems with Canada’s marijuana laws,” according to a report from the Canadian Broadcasting Company.

While the ruling is not binding on other courts, the youth’s attorney, Brian McAllister, told HT that “every lawyer who has a case involving marijuana should cite this case. They are negligent if they don’t.” He’s optimistic about the effect the ruling will have, but did point out that, “We need to see how the government is going to react. It was a pretty dry legal argument. The decision was based on a technical issue, and on how to interpret existing law.”

“I doubt police will stop charging people for the moment,” McAllister told the Canadian Press.

In July 2000, the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the law barring possession of 30 grams of marijuana or less, saying it discriminated against the sick. The court, the province’s highest, gave the federal government one year to come up with new laws. In July 2001, the government issued guidelines governing medical use of marijuana, becoming the first Western nation to legalize medical use and possession. Although medical users have subsequently been by law protected, recreational users were ignored until now.

“This ruling, while not binding in itself, will have an effect on other judges in Ontario,” said Tim Meehan, spokesperson for Ontario Consumers for Safe Access to Recreational Cannabis in Toronto. “Even before Justice Phillips’ ruling was handed down, a judge in Sault Ste. Marie and another in Chatham had said that they would not be hearing marijuana cases until this decision was rendered. Perhaps the most important effect of this ruling is that it will put a ‘chilling effect’ on some of the more rabid drug-warrior prosecutors, because if the case reaches a high enough court, it will become precedent, not merely something to take judicial notice of.”

Meehan says he’s “very happy to see that there is now some official recognition of what I have felt all along, and while it’s not perfect (we still have a black market, and trafficking and cultivation are still illegal), at least we have a weapon to fight against the war on plants and its effects on harmless cannabis consumers. I’m very privileged to be involved with this and see all of this happening right at the beginning of a new year. I was hoping 2003 would start off right, and I’m quite happy so far!”

“Having Canada move in this direction will provide information that US reformers and policymakers can use,” says Kevin Zeese at Common Sense for Drug Policy in Washington. “Canada is enough like the US that success up north will be convincing in the States, more so than in Europe. Beyond the impact on the US—it is important for Canada—they are smart to stop wasting resources on marijuana enforcement.” Asked if he feels this ruling will have a wider effect for recreational users in general, Zeese says, “Yes. Both legislative reports on drugs in Canada—from the upper and lower houses of Parliament—support ending marijuana prohibition to various degrees. The Senate went the furthest, with an all-out regulatory model. The House took the smaller step of decriminalization. As a result, the Minister of Justice says he expects decrim within four months. Hopefully, they will find a way to include personal cultivation and small-scale sales (under five grams or so) as part of their decriminalization model.”

Zeese also criticizes US Drug Czar John P. Walters, who took a recent trip to Canada to warn that super-potent Canadian pot would destroy the youth of both countries, and threatened possible trade sanctions if Canada eased its marijuana laws. “Walters is also out of step with most people in the US,” says Zeese. “Polls show USers support medical marijuana in the 70 to 80 percent range, yet Walters, [US Attorney General John] Ashcroft, and [DEA head Asa] Hutchinson are wasting precious resources persecuting marijuana dispensaries and making the seriously ill suffer. So, they are extremists even in their own country. The policies of the extreme drug warriors like Walters claim to be designed to protect US kids, but the reality is they do a great deal more harm than good for our youth.”