One of the Trudeau government's stated policy goals for ending marijuana prohibition is to divert the profits reaped by gangsters toward legitimate shareholders. But an investigation by Greg McArthur and Molly Hayes offers a glimpse into the insidious nature of organized crime, finding that criminal groups easily exploited loopholes in the federal government's old medical-marijuana licensing regimes In the late afternoon of March 14 in the Toronto suburb of Woodbridge, a masked gunman jumped out of the passenger side of a black Jeep Cherokee, darted across a snow-dusted parking lot and unleashed a flurry of bullets into a black BMW. Thirty seconds later, he was back in the car, leaving Saverio Serrano - the son of a notorious Canadian Mafia figure and cocaine importer - wounded, and Mr. Serrano's 28-year-old girlfriend dead. [continues 3221 words]
Tracing marijuana's journey from menace to medicine 1922 - Famous Five member Emily Murphy, who helmed the battle to have women declared "persons" in Canada, publishes The Black Candle, an anti-drug (and unabashedly racist) manifesto that raises alarm over "a new menace" in the world of drugs: Marijuana. The book calls marijuana "a weed of madness" and suggests only three ways of escape from its addictive clutches - insanity, death or abandonment. 1923 - Cannabis is added to the restricted list under Canada's Narcotics Drug Act after a vague reference to a "new drug" is mentioned during a late-night session in the House of Commons. It, along with codeine, is added with no debate. Historians believe the influence of Murphy's book was one of the primary reasons for its addition. [continues 503 words]
Another 420 is around the corner, and T.O.'s profile as a hotbed of weed culture continues to grow, but prohibition keeps us from putting up plaques at historic sites Denver doesn't have one. And pot is legal there. Ditto Portlandia. The Toronto Hash Mob's ninth annual 420 marijuana legalization rally, slated for Yonge-Dundas Square on Monday, April 20, has made T.O. the epicentre of cannabis culture activism in North America. Cannabis culture thrives in the big smoke - and always has - despite a harsh political environment. We have a largely forgotten and fascinating cannabis history, though prohibition prevents the erection of historical markers to mark its sites. [continues 1068 words]
A 58-year-old Douro-Dummer Township woman pleaded with a superior court judge to throw out her drug charges Thursday, but was told she was bringing her concerns to the wrong court. "I just want to live," Debra McIntyre said, pleading with the court, sometimes banging her hands on the table. "I'm trying as hard as I can to stay alive." McIntyre is jointly charged with two other people with marijuana production and theft of electricity. McIntyre was in court based on the same arguments filed by Mark MacDonald and Benny Almud in September, which a judge ruled had no standing in Superior Court of Justice. But McIntyre was also trying to distance herself from one of her co-accused who she referred to as "the predator," the man who built her home. [continues 389 words]
Any argument that a landmark marijuana case in 2000 deleted cannabis from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act is wrong, a federal prosecutor argued Monday. Kevin Wilson, with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, argued that two men challenging the country's marijuana possession laws had no standing in Peterborough's Superior Court of Justice but could make their arguments at trial in Ontario Court of Justice, which is a lower court. Mark MacDonald and Benny Almud have been charged separately with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. Almud is also charged with marijuana production. [continues 545 words]
An application to challenge the validity of Canada's marijuana laws will be heard Sept. 27 in Superior Court of Justice in Peterborough. Two local self-proclaimed medical marijuana users -- Mark MacDonald and Benny Almud -- are arguing the country's marijuana laws were invalid from 2003 to 2009. They've been charged separately with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. Almud is also charged with production of marijuana. Unlike the first day the case was addressed in Superior Court last month, there was no display of marijuana smoking on the front steps of the courthouse Monday. [continues 559 words]
The pungent smell of marijuana smoke permeated the entrance of Peterborough's Superior Court of Justice Thursday as a group of activists took aim at Canada's marijuana possession laws. Members of the group toked up in protest on the courthouse's front steps, arguing marijuana possession laws were invalid for a six-year period beginning in 2003. The group was supporting two local men - Mark McDonald and Benny Almud - who have been charged with marijuana possession for the purpose of trafficking. [continues 478 words]
So the citizens of Port Hope, are concerned about image and security, in respect to marijuana cultivation. May I point out, Port Hope's image is not too cool, when supporting the prohibition of a substance which saves lives. Under prohibition, lives are threatened when we have a government permitting and concealing,unauthorized covert human experimentation upon unwitting human subjects. While the people of Port Hope are trying to ban a life saving substance, some child is screaming verbal profanities under a local cranium incision. I find it most demented, that anyone would object to the cultivation of marijuana, when this substance kills cancer cells, blocks epileptic seizure disorder, prevents Alzheimers, addresses glaucoma , etc. [continues 141 words]
Unravelling the Complications of Growing Medical Marijuana Through the Health Canada program, Bilodeau officially supplies three patients with marijuana for medical relief - which he grows for them absolutely free of charge. Off the books to support the costs of growing, he sells his surplus to the Montreal Compassion Club, where he also works as a manager. The club dispenses medical marijuana to members who demonstrate a legitimate medical need, but haven't got a doctor's prescription and aren't part of the government program. [continues 2141 words]
Bust Of Health Activist Another Twist In Feds' Medpot Mind-Bender NOW readers know Matt Mernagh as that indomitable spirit behind the megaphone at medpot rallies in Yonge-Dundas Square. Bright lights, big city. That's Mernagh. He's been a tireless and unabashed promoter of the virtues and healing powers of the weed, a weirdly wonderful foot soldier for the rights of sick people in this country who just want to be able to grow their own medicine. He's been pointed about the hell Health Canada has put medpot users through, including as a contributor to these pages, pissing off federal bureaucrats and, unfortunately, attracting the unwanted attention of law enforcement officials. Who are the paranoid ones here? [continues 557 words]
It is only thanks to favourable decisions by a handful of committed lawyers and sympathetic judges that Canada boasts even the anaemic national medical cannabis program it has today. The slow march toward establishing the rights of the sick to access therapeutic pot began in 1999 when a superior court judge recognized Ontario resident Jim Wakeford's right to grow and possess cannabis to treat symptoms of his HIV/AIDS without fear of legal recourse by the state. In response to that ruling, Health Canada declared it would henceforth allow clients meeting its vague criteria to receive an exemption to Section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). [continues 375 words]
Why Can't Ottawa Deliver a Sensible, Humane Medicinal-Marijuana Program? Jim Kerr was making lunch one Friday afternoon last month when seven police officers burst in, put him up against the wall and handcuffed him. "I have multiple sclerosis and grow marijuana for it," he told them. "Shut up," said an officer. "You're not under arrest yet." "The marijuana is upstairs in a room I keep locked when the kids are home," he said. "Shut up," he was told again. From upstairs came the gleeful howls of policemen: "We got it! Bust him!" [continues 984 words]
On January 10, the Federal Court of Canada declared invalid a squirrely provision of the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) that prohibits licensed pot producers from growing for more than one patient. In his decision, Judge Barry Strayer smoked out the Kafkaesque loopholes that have forced those licensed to use pot in this country to pay high prices on the black market or smoke bush weed from a lone state-sanctioned dealer that they say has little therapeutic value. Here's an edited excerpt from Strayer's tongue-lashing. [continues 745 words]
Dr. Alan Russell wrote in his letter, "The marijuana conundrum" (the Medical Post, Nov. 15): "For multiple sclerosis or severe rheumatoid arthritis, a specialist with an FRCP or an FRCS can sign a form for the medical use of marijuana. I have yet to be able to find two specialists in this field who will see a patient within a year and who will sign a form." Perhaps Dr. Russell is unaware of this (a great many doctors are), but for severe pain in MS and RA, for intractable spasm in MS, and for other "category 1" disease symptoms, the regulations state the MMAR forms may be signed by any physician who knows the patient (though the number of doctors willing to do so is small, for the reasons he gave.) [continues 161 words]
Editor, The Journal Re: Trustees Split on Pot Bill, Oct. 4. I agree completely that the Liberal's wrongly named "decrim" bill is a joke. But it is not "decriminalization", it is an "alternative penalty program". Cotler said so himself. Why the media insists on calling an "apple" an "orange" is a mystery to me. The bill would make pot a lighter fine for youths than for adults, suggesting that it is okay for kids to use pot, which it is not! [continues 194 words]
Philippe Lucas, head of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society, will be in at the Western Communities court house tomorrow and Friday for a preliminary trial into a RCMP raid on the compassion society's grow-op in Sooke. Lucas plans to use the case to springboard a constitutional challenge to the right to life and freedom in higher courts over the lack of access to medicinal marijuana in Canada. After the Terry Parker case in January 2003, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered the Canadian government to distribute pot, said Lucas. [continues 53 words]
Dear Editor, As the Marijuana Party candidate for Parkdale-Highpark, Toronto, may I apologize for Marc Emery's comments regarding the elderly [Profile: Radical changes offered, April 12, Langley Advance News], which is neither the policy for the Marijauna Party of Canada nor, I believe, the BCMP. The elderly have endured some tough times during this era of marijuana prohibition and government corruption. They deserve our respect and a right to quality health care in Canada. Emery's comments are only out of frustration and should be taken with a grain of salt. [continues 103 words]
Our police should be most ashamed for depriving society of a life-saving herb such as marijuana. In the past several months, marijuana charges in Toronto and Ontario have been withdrawn, since the Crown argues it is not in the public interest to proceed with prosecution. While MADD and the government are trying to re-criminate marijuana, why don't we re-criminate homosexuality, abortion, coffee, tea, tobacco, and alcohol, which all use to be illegal? Our cops are the worst cops on the planet, when neglecting greater crimes than pot production. Terry Parker Jr. Marijuana candidate Parkdale (Fire up another one, Terry) [end]
Toronto pot activists, medicinal smokers and recreational tokers were shocked, disappointed, and angry that it won't be a green Christmas this year after all. They were forced to scratch Acapulco gold, African black, and B.C. bud off their holiday wish lists after the Supreme Court upheld the federal government's marijuana prohibition. "It's absolutely depressing, there's no merry Christmas this year," said epileptic Terry Parker, who won the right to smoke pot for medicinal purposes in 2000, but still has no safe, secure source of the drug. [continues 148 words]
With all due respect, i think letter writer Terry Parker Jr. is wrong about Alan Young (NOW, November 20-26). I'm sure Alan has broad shoulders and can bear a few insults, as well as speak for himself. Notwithstanding that, Parker has forgotten that no other lawyer even stood up to the system before Alan came along. Quite frankly, all of Parker's beefs ought to be vented at outgoing Prime Minister Jean Chretien. More precisely, his anger should be vented at Canadians who support politicians who support drug prohibition, prescription rights and drug patents that cost us dearly at the pharmacy. [continues 90 words]
As the first applicant for a declaration of "no force nor effect" of the marijuana prohibition under the Controlled Drugs And Substances Act, I find it totally misleading to suggest that Alan Young is a champion of marijuana consumers (NOW, November 13-19). NOW isn't providing fair coverage of how my attempts to invalidate the marijuana prohibition have been sabotaged by Young's legal manoeuvrings.Every year, 2,400-4,600 people die due to epilepsy in Canada. It is quite evident that expecting help from Young is an illusion when it comes to protecting marijuana consumers, or else I would not be looking at jail come this spring, when my exemption runs out and I've got no doctor to sign the forms. Thanks for nothing, Alan!!! Terry Parker Jr., Toronto [end]
Canadian Courts Unleash a Pack of Anti-Pot Rulings Today Ontario's highest court, the Court of Appeals blew the drug war trumpet loud and clear in a series of much-awaited legal decisions including Rogin, Hitzig, Parker, Turmel and Paquette. The court opened season on Ontario residents who possess under 30 grams, who for the last few months have enjoyed relative immunity from the law. On a lighter note, the ruling also opened the way for compassion clubs to receive legal licenses. [continues 854 words]
No Thanks to Our Gutless Politicians Last week was a dizzying one for B.C. potheads, civil libertarians and law enforcement officials alike as the shit hit the fan from B.C. Provincial Judge Patrick Chen's Sept. 4 ruling in the Crown's case against Kurtis Lee Masse for marijuana possession. Masse's lawyer, Troy Anderson, argued that the charge should be quashed because it does not name an offence known to law in BC, and Judge Chen agreed. In Chen's view, "Section 4 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, as it applies to marijuana, ceased to be valid legislation after July 31, 2001." He was referring to the expiry of the one-year grace period set by the Ontario court to provide Parliament with the opportunity to fill the legal void after finding epileptic Terry Parker medically exempt from charges of cultivation and possession. [continues 356 words]
Simple possession of marijuana is not illegal, according to a provincial court judge's Sept. 4 decision. An appeal is in the works, but similar decisions have been upheld in three other Canadian provinces, meaning taking a toke could soon be perfectly legal. A decision made by a provincial court judge Sept. 4 has stirred up debate on whether it is legal - or not - to take a toke or two of pot. In B.C. provincial court, Judge Patrick Chen determined parts of the (federal) Controlled Drugs and Substances Act are invalid, and therefore, "there is no offence known to law at this time for simple possession of marijuana" in the province. [continues 448 words]
Judge Rules That New Westminster Man Was Not Breaking The Law A B.C. judge has ruled that a man who was arrested in New Westminster with what would amount to a small garbage bag full of marijuana was not breaking the law. On Sept. 4 in provincial court in Coquitlam, Judge P. Chen concluded that "there is no offence known to law at this time for simple possession of marijuana." The judgment, which is expected to have immediate ramifications in B.C. courts, refers only to possession of marijuana, not possession for the purpose of trafficking. [continues 713 words]
The federal government is endangering the lives of seriously ill Canadians by forcing them into the black market to obtain marijuana for medicinal use, Ontario's highest court was told yesterday. Lawyer Alan Young told the Ontario Court of Appeal that Ottawa is violating the constitutional right of Canadians to choose their own medical treatment by not making the illegal narcotic available. He represents seven seriously ill Canadians and the operator of a Toronto compassion club that supplied weed to the sick. [continues 363 words]
Pot smokers are in legal limbo and for the moment it doesn't matter if the joint they're lighting up is for medical or purely recreational purposes. Two cases before the Ontario Court of Appeal and a trio of challenges in the Supreme Court of Canada, however, could clear up confusion about whether it's illegal to possess a little marijuana. Police in the province stopped laying charges for possession of less than 30 grams (one ounce) in the wake of a precedent-setting ruling on May 16 from a Windsor judge. Superior Court Justice Stephen Rogin upheld a lower court's decision to acquit a Windsor teenager on a legal technicality, effectively taking "simple possession" off the books in Ontario. [continues 965 words]
Seeking Funding For Clinical Trial EDMONTON - Some local epilepsy sufferers believe marijuana is helping control their seizures, but their doctor remains to be convinced. Neurologist Dr. Donald Gross is preparing a proposal for a clinical trial of marijuana use for epilepsy, to settle the debate once and for all. Gross has just completed a survey of 136 epilepsy patients. One-quarter of them believe marijuana can help, despite lack of scientific proof. "Right now I think that patients are struggling with this problem, clinicians are struggling with this problem, and the politicians are as well," Gross said Tuesday. "Nobody really has a clear answer." [continues 275 words]
Like a recalcitrant teenager ordered to do her homework or lose her TV privileges, Health Minister Anne McLellan has waited until the last possible moment to make medical marijuana available to Canadians, as directed by the courts. She and her department have dragged their feet in a number of ways over the past few years, trying to avoid this decision -- arguing that the medical benefits of marijuana are inconclusive and that the product delivered by a contractor didn't meet quality tests (if only all dealers were so conscientious). Now, they can delay no longer. [continues 544 words]
Right now, there is no law against possessing marijuana for personal use in the province, due to a couple of recent court rulings. Police officers, lawyers and judges are asking what happens next. If you're confused about whether it is legal or illegal to possess marijuana in Ontario, you're not alone. And you have some pretty good company. It seems the answer to the simple question of whether possession of marijuana is legal right now depends on who you ask. [continues 1516 words]
Dear Editor, The new, proposed decriminalization law, which does not allow for medical access to marijuana, will be in violation of the Parker decision circa July 2000, just as was the case heard by Justice Rogin which has cleared the personal possession law in Ontario. The new law would be thrown out under the same principle. Marijuana possession of 30 grams or less will be legal in Ontario for the foreseeable future. And, since other provinces take the lead of Ontario, said act will be legal for all Canadians soon enough. [continues 153 words]
Toronto First Major Force To Ignore Simple Possession. Ontario Now "Safe Haven" For Marijuana Users, Says Fantino Toronto police Chief Julian Fantino has told his officers to stop laying charges for simple possession of marijuana. The decision, Fantino said in a statement yesterday, follows government inaction and court decisions that leave police wondering "whether simple possession of marijuana is an offence at all." Tom Kaye, president of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, echoed Fantino's move and yesterday advised police leaders across the province to "use discretion in situations that involve the simple possession of marijuana." [continues 949 words]
WINDSOR -- Possessing less than 30 grams of marijuana is no longer against the law in Ontario, a Windsor judge says in a ruling released yesterday that compounds the chaos over Canada's pot laws. Superior Court Justice Steven Rogin's decision has "effectively erased the criminal prohibition on marijuana possession from the law books in Ontario," said Brian McAllister, the Windsor lawyer who challenged the law on behalf of a 17-year-old client. Judge Rogin's decision is almost certainly to be followed by judges of Ontario's lower court, where nearly all marijuana possession cases are decided. [continues 379 words]
Nearly seven months ago, Senator Pierre-Claude Nolin told the country that Canadians over the age of 16 should be allowed to smoke marijuana the way that their elders knock back a scotch or two before dinner or have a cigarette with their morning coffee. Who would have thought the Senate could have been so, well, hip? After all, 16-year-olds can't buy a beer or a package of cigarettes until they're 19, at least not legally. But in its four-volume report, the Senate concluded that not only should pot be legalized, but that it was a lot less harmful than either cigarettes or tobacco, not to mention a lot less stressful. [continues 882 words]
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Canada is expected to rule on a long-awaited challenge to marijuana-possession laws. Recently, marijuana-possession charges in cases involving 30 grams or less have been thrown out of provincial courts in Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Judges in other provinces are expected to follow suit because Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has refused to clarify Canada's marijuana laws. How did we get to this point? Almost two years ago, an Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that Terry Parker, an epileptic who uses marijuana to ease his symptoms, had the right to possess less than 30 grams of pot. This ruling created a loophole, effectively invalidating Canada's drug laws. The judge gave Ottawa 12 months to rewrite the law defining Canada's position. A year later, the government brought forward the Medical Marijuana Access Regulations, but not a new marijuana law. Ottawa said it would bring in new legislation in April, 2003. That got moved to June. It's possible the legislation would not pass until this fall. [continues 432 words]
Sickly Group Battle For Medical Marijuana Toronto's Terry Parker has been fighting, and winning, marijuana-related court cases since the 1970s and there's no end in sight. "I've already had eight decisions in my favour. There should be a mention of that in the Guinness Book of World Records," Parker said. "I don't see myself ever stopping as long as there is marijuana prohibition. I have a conscience, I am aware of people suffering and I'll find some way to expose the goods here." [continues 852 words]
Marijuana Crusader Rings Up Eight Case Victories In Fight Against Prohibition Toronto's Terry Parker has been fighting, and winning, marijuana-related court cases since the 1970s and there's no end in sight. "I've already had eight decisions in my favour. There should be a mention of that in the Guinness Book of World Records," Parker said. "I don't see myself ever stopping as long as there is marijuana prohibition. I have a conscience, I am aware of people suffering and I'll find some way to ex-pose the goods here." [continues 1065 words]
Contradictory Marijuana Laws Mean People Granted Medical Access To Pot Can't Acquire It Legally TORONTO -- Terry Parker has been fighting -- and winning -- marijuana-related court cases since the 1970s and there's no end in sight. "I've already had eight decisions in my favour. There should be a mention of that in the Guinness Book of Records," Parker said. "I don't see myself ever stopping as long as there is marijuana prohibition. I have a conscience, I am aware of people suffering and I'll find some way to expose the goods here." [continues 757 words]
Sickly Group Battling For Medical Marijuana Toronto's Terry Parker has been fighting, and winning, marijuana-related court cases since the 1970s and there's no end in sight. "I've already had eight decisions in my favour. There should be a mention of that in the Guinness Book of World Records," Parker said. "I don't see myself ever stopping as long as there is marijuana prohibition. I have a conscience, I am aware of people suffering and I'll find some way to expose the goods here." [continues 852 words]
Sickly Groups Battle For Medicinal Marijuana Toronto's Terry Parker has been fighting, and winning, marijuana-related court cases since the 1970s and there's no end in sight. "I've already had eight decisions in my favour. There should be a mention of that in the Guinness Book of Records," Parker said. "I don't see myself ever stopping as long as there is marijuana prohibition. I have a conscience, I am aware of people suffering and I'll find some way to expose the goods here." [continues 848 words]
OTTAWA -- Born in hysteria, Canada's pot laws have survived decades of attempts to reform, toughen or quash them. The folllowing is a chronology of the nation's cannabis law: - - 1908: The Opium and Narcotic Act prohibits the import, manufacture and sale of opiates for non-medicinal purposes. This act serves as the basis for subsequent Canadian laws dealing with the use of illicit drugs. - - Parliament first bans the use of cannabis in 1923, after Judge Emily Murphy announces that people under its influence "become raving maniacs and are liable to kill ... " [continues 385 words]
OTTAWA -- Born in hysteria, Canada's pot laws have survived decades of attempts to reform, toughen or quash them. The folllowing is chronology of the nation's cannabis law: - - 1908: The Opium and Narcotic Act prohibits the import, manufacture and sale of opiates for non-medicinal purposes. This act serves as the basis for subsequent Canadian laws dealing with the use of illicit drugs. - - Parliament first bans the use of cannabis in 1923, after Judge Emily Murphy announces that people under its influence "become raving maniacs and are liable to kill ... " [continues 383 words]
Born in hysteria, Canada's pot laws have survived decades of attempts to reform, toughen or quash them. The following is a chronology of the nation's cannabis law: - - 1908: The Opium and Narcotic Act prohibits the import, manufacture and sale of opiates for non-medicinal purposes. This act serves as the basis for subsequent Canadian laws dealing with the use of illicit drugs. - - Parliament first bans the use of cannabis in 1923, after Judge Emily Murphy announced that people under its influence "become raving maniacs and are liable to kill ... " [continues 384 words]
A Dartmouth provincial court judge says she fears legal chaos if federal authorities keep prosecuting people for simple drug possession. Judge Flora Buchan expressed her concerns Monday when she stayed a possession charge against Paula Clarke, 29, of Minesville, Halifax County. Judge Buchan followed the lead of judges in Ontario and Prince Edward Island who granted similar stays, arguing Canada's marijuana laws are unclear. She said it's a question of whether it is an abuse of the court process to permit the federal Crown to prosecute drug matters that have now been stayed in three provinces. [continues 607 words]
The federal Crown has officially launched an appeal of a judge's decision to stay a possession of marijuana charge in Summerside's Provincial Court. March 14, Judge Ralph C. Thompson stayed a simple possession of marijuana charge against a 19-year-old Islander, ruling it wouldn't be fair to prosecute him when Ontarians have immunity from the same charge. The Crown filed its Notice of Appeal of that ruling at the P.E.I. Supreme Court in Summerside Friday. The case will be heard by the P.E.I. Supreme Court (Trial Division) at a date yet to be determined. [continues 429 words]
Three more men had charges of pot possession against them stayed in Provincial Court in Summerside Wednesday, as the Crown awaits higher court rulings. Friday, Judge Ralph C. Thompson had stayed a simple possession of marijuana charge against a 19-year-old man in the court. Thompson ruled it wouldn't be fair to prosecute him when Ontarians have immunity from the same charge. In his decision, Thompson had referred to Ontario cases. In 2000, that province's Court of Appeal said the possession of marijuana charge violated the rights of Terry Parker, by preventing him from legally accessing marijuana for medicinal reasons. [continues 500 words]
Justice Rogin's Ruling to Govern Ontario's Lower Courts; Arguments Resume March 11 A Windsor lower court judge was wrong to conclude the law banning marijuana possession is invalid in Ontario, government lawyers argued Friday. "The marijuana prohibition in Canada is in full force and effect," federal lawyer Peter Defreitas said. The government lawyers made their case to Superior Court Justice Steven Rogin, whose decision will govern all Ontario lower court judges. Hundreds of marijuana cases across the province have been put on hold awaiting Rogin's ruling, which won't come until after March 11 when the hearing resumes. [continues 351 words]
Borden-Carleton's Jamie Fox Says Provincial Court Decision To Stay Marijuana Possession Charge Laid Against 19-Year-Old Is Wrong SUMMERSIDE - Borden-Carleton Police Chief Jamie Fox is urging the Crown to appeal Friday's decision in provincial court here to stay a charge of possession against a 19-year-old. In an 11-page decision, Judge Ralph C. Thompson stayed the charge against the teenager who had been arrested for possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana last fall. [continues 685 words]
A judge has stayed a marijuana possession charge against an Island teen, ruling it wouldn't be fair to prosecute him when approximately 12 million other Canadians have immunity from the same charge. In Provincial Court in Summerside Friday, Judge Ralph C. Thompson stayed proceedings against a 19-year-old after considering cases in Ontario. The young Islander had been charged with possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana in the fall. His defence lawyer, Clifford McCabe, had argued in a previous hearing that the charge should be quashed, because it's not a valid offence based on the Ontario cases. [continues 539 words]
