cannabisnews.com: New Drug Bill at Odds with Court Case New Drug Bill at Odds with Court Case Posted by CN Staff on May 30, 2003 at 16:29:15 PT By Shannon Kari Source: Ottawa Citizen Toronto - The federal government is asking the Ontario Court of Appeal to restore criminal possession penalties for marijuana possession at the same time it is introducing legislation to decriminalize the offence. A notice to seek leave to appeal a recent Superior Court decision in Windsor was filed in the Court of Appeal on Monday. The federal government said Justice Steven Rogin "erred in law" when he ruled that the existing prohibition against marijuana possession in Section 4 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act is invalid. The act provides for maximum sentences of up to six months in jail for people convicted of possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana. The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled in July 2000 that the section was unconstitutional. It suspended its ruling for one year to give Parliament time to pass new legislation that covered all aspects of marijuana possession, including people with medical exemptions. Instead, the federal cabinet enacted medical marijuana regulations in July 2001, which were declared unconstitutional by an Ontario Superior Court judge earlier this year, because people with medical exemptions have no legal supply of marijuana. "Since Section 4 of the CDSA has not been re-enacted as it relates to marijuana, there is no penalty for simple possession of marijuana," said Justice Rogin in a decision that upheld a lower court ruling. "Simple possession of marijuana in Ontario is like simple possession of ice cream. It is not illegal," as a result of the Superior Court decision, explained criminal lawyer Peter Zaduk. "We take the position the law is still valid," said Eugene Williams, the director of prosecutions in the Ottawa-Gatineau region. Mr. Williams said federal Crown attorneys have been instructed to ask for adjournments of marijuana possession proceedings, pending the appeal. "I still don't see how he can say it is still a law," Mr. Zaduk responded. He pointed to a 1988 decision by Ontario Superior Court Justice David Watt that made it clear that appellate rulings by Superior Courts are binding on lower courts."That is the manner in which the doctrine of precedent is applied within the judicial hierarchy of a province." "It is indeed the very bedrock upon which the doctrine is constituted," said Justice Watt, in a decision that has not been over-ruled. "We continue to go about business as usual," said Chief Thomas Kaye, the president of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. Chief Kaye, who is also the Chief of the Owen Sound police force, said his officers would not stop laying charges for marijuana possession unless ordered to do so by the Justice Department. "Police cannot remain willingfully blind to the court ruling," said criminal lawyer Brian McAllister, who represented the defendant in the Windsor proceeding.Mr. McAllister said the Department of Justice and police are "thumbing their nose" at the court ruling and could be open to civil lawsuits if marijuana prosecutions continue while there is no new legislation in place.Government wants criminal penalties restored for possession of marijuana as it moves to decriminalize offence.Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON) Author: Shannon KariPublished: Wednesday, May 28, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Ottawa CitizenContact: letters thecitizen.southam.caWebsite: http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/ Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmNo Laws Ban Possession of Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16321.shtmlMarijuana Possession Law 'Erased' http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16320.shtmlPot Laws Unconstitutional: Lawyerhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15703.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #8 posted by FoM on May 31, 2003 at 11:05:39 PT SoberStoner Hey SoberStoner it is ok to blow off steam. When we look at the world events on a kind of fast forward it's enough to make us feel out of control. It's hard for me to keep living in the present but it is the way I deal with the world in this day and age. I try to remember that I have no control of the past and what our political leaders did. History will show us the truth in time. We are not responsible for our leaders poor judgement.Que Sera SeraWhatever will be will be The future's not ours to seeQue Sera Sera [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on May 31, 2003 at 03:01:45 PT LTE Sirs, The subheading of this article has me puzzled. It says, "Government wants criminal penalties restored for possession of marijuana as it moves to decriminalize offence." If the Ottawa courts have indeed declared it to be as legal as ice cream, then Chretien's proposal is not "decriminalization" at all. It is "recriminalization", and as long as his law does not contain a provision for medical access, the courts will rule it unconstitutional as well. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by SoberStoner on May 31, 2003 at 00:07:58 PT ignore this semi-drunken rambling post Hello everyone,The news of late is getting wierder and scarier by the hour it seems. From canada proposing Recriminalizing (which I would think would almost have to be unconstituional right from the start) to the Dutch banning smoking and possibly destroying the coffeeshops as well as a large part of the countries tourism income, to glorious leaders next bulleye being painted on Iran, it seems as if the world is on a rather self-destructive course whose conclusion is the stuff of nightmares.Washington seems hellbent on alienating us from anyone who does not immediately kowtow to us. Even canada, who at time has been referred to as the 51st state (altho not by anyone in canada i'm sure) is turning against us. I watched BBC news again tonight and was again amazed to see that they covered the breaking scandals of intellegence about Iraq being misconstrued or possibly just completely falsified without any hint of propaganda that permeates American 'news'. The CIA is saying that their reports were discarded without a second glance since they didnt concur with glorious leaders obsessive need to take over Iraq. As much as cannabis is a major part of my life, it has been taking a back seat to my love of my country and my disgust at what is happening to it. Yet somehow, when I try to think about solutions to Americas problems, I keep returning to cannabis. Not in a literal sense as I am unable to smoke lately (not for lack of desire, just lack of means), but as the answer to our problems. I know that almost everyone reading this knows how useful cannabis can be in multiple ways. However, for those of you that may just be joining us, I highly recommend reading Jack Herer's book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes. You can find his website at www.jackherer.comAmerica is no longer the place I knew as a child, and it hasnt been for a while. Most Americans dont care about the basic principles of our country, even though they supposedly wanted to 'free' Iraq like we are. If they knew anything about our founders and their intentions, they would know how horribly astray this country is being led. They would also wake up and realize that we are NOT free, and hopefully they would wonder why Iraq deserves the freedoms that the sheeple couldnt give away fast enough.The Patriot Act(s), Guantanamo Bay, Faked 'proof' of WMD, tax cuts for everyone (except the poorest income earners, who can barely afford to pay bills and still provide food for their family), and so many other mind numbing atrocities have been commited in the last 2 years and the sheeple just chew their Big Macs, wave a flag (Made in China) and drool all over theirself watching all the purty bombs go off over in that sandy place (even if they dont know where it is on a map or why it was we were blowing stuff up to begin with). I know this is horribly off topic, and I apologize for that, so feel free to delete this post if you deem it neccessary FoM, but it does make me feel a bit better that I know I have at least one refuge left where I can speak my mind and have people honestly and respectfully respond. I know we are supposed to be talking about cannabis, but until the US gets regime change, cannabis laws will never change. Sure they may change at the state level, but the Feds have already shown utter comptempt for the rest of the world as well as the Constitution itself. Ed Rosenthal is just the latest example of the Feds dangerous delusions of being above the law. I could name many more examples of the Feds killing those who only wanted the freedoms they were guaranteed over 200 years ago, but it wont bring those people, or those freedoms back..Heh, seems as if everytime I post anymore it's a novelette. I guess it's the hack of a writer in me trying to get loose. Sorry if you didnt follow the topic and ignore the post, hopefully I didnt waste too much of your time reading it.The not so SoberStoner [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on May 30, 2003 at 21:09:15 PT The GCW All I've heard on the news is about Lacie Peterson. I haven't watched the news seriously for a long time but anything is possible. I know it will be hard to get people behind another war when they haven't even got Iraq fixed from the bombings. They haven't found any WMD or Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein. What can they say to convince us to go forward with another attack on another country? [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by The GCW on May 30, 2003 at 20:43:32 PT Friends, Another friend told Me, He heard on the TV news that the U.S. is now talking about Syria and Iran next, as in now.Is this true? [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by The GCW on May 30, 2003 at 20:36:02 PT Yes, LEGAL AS ICE CREAM!!! But the ice cream will kill you. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by mayan on May 30, 2003 at 18:08:28 PT LEGAL AS ICE CREAM!!! "Mr. McAllister said the Department of Justice and police are "thumbing their nose" at the court ruling and could be open to civil lawsuits if marijuana prosecutions continue while there is no new legislation in place."Here it is! Here's the mainstream article that says it plain as day for all to see! CANNABIS IS AS LEGAL AS ICE CREAM!!! The lawsuits will now come in droves if the police continue to harass the cannabis community. The Justice Department is now the criminal. Judge Rogin is probably not very pleased to have the Canadian feds tell him he "erred in law"! What a slap in the face! They pretty much called him incompetent. It's not wise to piss off a judge! YIPPEE!Hats off to the Ottawa Citizen! Spread this article far & wide!!!Here's some more good news...Philadelphia has become the 116th U.S. municipality to condemn the Patriot Act. They are the largest city yet to do so!Philadelphia Council Condemns Patriot Act: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N29237485.htmThe way out is still the way in...9/11: Why Weren't U.S. Fighters Scrambled? http://www.sianews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1022&mode=&order=0&thold=0The Failure to Defend the Skies on 9/11: http://www.cooperativeresearch.net/timeline/main/essayairdefense.htmlCongress, White House clash over declassifying 9/11 report: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-05-29-intelligence-usat_x.htmARE AMERICANS THE VICTIMS OF A HOAX? http://whatreallyhappened.com/hoax.htmlTwin towers compensation helps broker to record profits: http://www.guardian.co.uk/september11/story/0,11209,966002,00.htmlBUSH NEEDS ANOTHER 9/11: http://etherzone.com/2003/henr053003.shtmlWashington Post Headline on 9/11 Inquiry May Prove Prophetic Says Watchdog Group: http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/archive/scoop/stories/6d/21/200305281016.258acdf4.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Virgil on May 30, 2003 at 17:02:49 PT Poor things. Can them not war on drugs? How is it that the government defends striping people of the right to use cannabis under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms again? Actually I never saw the reasoning the first time. How does that reasoning go- Cannabis is worse than crack cocaine? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment