POT SUPPORTER LAUNCHES CHALLENGE OF HIS ARREST

Marijuana crusaders filled a Victoria courtroom Thursday as local pot
activist Ted Smith tried to advance a constitutional challenge to his
arrest and charges.

Smith, a longtime campaigner for the medical use of marijuana, was
busted three years ago after a meeting at the University of Victoria.
He is facing possession and trafficking charges.

His lawyer, Robert Moore-Stewart, said the constitutional issue
contends, in part, that police singled out and targeted Smith for
arrest because of his longtime political activism.

Patrick Weir, lawyer for the federal Crown, said singling out was a
bit of a stretch. Smith had used a megaphone to declare the meeting
over, lit up a joint and then began passing it around, said Weir.

The case was put over until next Tuesday.