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Marijuana law ruled ‘unconstitutional’
http://www.excal.on.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3572&Itemid=2
Quote:Marijuana law ruled ‘unconstitutional’
Written by Carl Meyer, Assistant News Editor
Wednesday, 22 August 2007
ImageJudge acquits man, Federal Health Minister plans new anti-drug plansRolling a joint might require the removal of stems and seeds, but the legal limbo in which pot smokers in Canada find themselves is far from clear-cut.
On July 13, an Ontario Court judge in Toronto acquitted Clifford Long, who was charged with possession of 3.5 grams of marijuana.
The court held that Canada’s marijuana possession laws are unconstitutional. Justice Howard Borenstein cited a seven-year-old Ontario Court of Appeal case, which also described the possession law as unconstitutional, due to its ambiguity on medical marijuana.
Long argued in court that since the government of Canada allowed for medicinal use, but did not change the law on marijuana to accommodate this policy change, then all possession laws should cease to exist.
That is good news for many Canadians. A recent study by the United Nations stated that Canada has the highest rate of regular marijuana consumption in the world, at 16.8 percent between the ages of 15 and 64.
The figure is reportedly almost equal to the number of tobacco smokers in Canada.
Federal health minister Tony Clement is planning a new anti-drug campaign in response.
In a speech to the Canadian Medical Association on Aug. 21, he suggested that the legal ambiguity is a bad message to “young people.”
“The messages young people have received during the past several years have been confusing and conflicting to say the least,” he stated.
“The debate over whether to legalize marijuana, for example, has left an entire generation confused over whether or not pot is legal in Canada,” he continued.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is not.”
Health Canada began administering the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) in 2001.
Two years later, in 2003, Warren Hitzig and others challenged the federal government over the MMAR’s ambiguity in obtaining marijuana seeds and plants for medicinal users who opt into the grow-your-own plan.
The government was given six months to create a legal solution, which resulted in a federal marijuana distribution contract signed with Prairie Plant Systems in Flin Flon, Manitoba.
York University allows at least one individual to smoke pot on campus.
On Nov. 6, Brian MacLean, a York assistant professor in sociology, received accommodation to smoke pot on campus grounds for medicinal purposes.
MacLean suffers from degenerative arthritis that requires him to use marijuana once every four hours.
As well, two ordained ministers from the Church of the Universe, a new religious movement, have filed a $25 million class action lawsuit in the Federal Court of Canada, challenging possession law.
They say the law violates freedom of religion, since marijuana is a “sacrament” to the Church.:hemp:
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