POT RULING EXPECTED TUESDAY

As the Martin government moves to relax marijuana laws, the Supreme Court
of Canada will decide tomorrow whether to give pot advocates the big prize:
legalization.

The long-awaited rulings in three cases will be the Supreme Court's first
test of the constitutionality of the country's 80-year-old ban on marijuana
possession.

"This is very significant," said Chris Clay, a B.C. Web-page designer who
owned the Great Canadian Hemporium marijuana paraphernalia and seed store
in London, Ont., before police shut it down.

"It sounds like the Liberals are going to decriminalize, and that's a step
in the right direction, but ultimately legalization is the solution we're
looking for."

Clay, 32, laughed at the prospect of sticking a bit of weed in the
Christmas pudding if the ruling goes his way.

He is one of three litigants who argue that threatening people with a
criminal record and jail time for what they contend is a victimless crime
breaches Charter of Rights guarantees of life, liberty and security of the
person.

The federal Justice Department counters that the Supreme Court should give
Parliament as much leeway as possible in crafting drug policy.

"All three appellants seek to elevate a recreational pursuit to a
constitutional right," federal lawyer David Frankel said in a written
submission to the Supreme Court. "There is no free-standing right to get
stoned."

A key question in the appeal is whether the government must demonstrate a
serious health risk if it wants to continue to ban marijuana possession.

The government has "no right to tell people what they can put in their
bodies," lawyer John Conroy argued at the Supreme Court hearing last spring.

"Where do you draw the line?" Conroy asked. "Are fatty foods going to be
next? The obesity problem is a lot worse that the drug problem."

Conroy is the lawyer for Victor Caine, who was convicted of possession for
sharing a joint with a friend in his car while parked at a beach near
Vancouver.

The third litigant is David Malmo-Levine, who formed the Vancouver-based
Harm Reduction Club for marijuana smokers.

The federal government plans to impose fines rather than criminal records
on people caught with small amounts of marijuana.

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler stressed that lawmakers oppose giving pot
smokers free rein.

"This is how Parliament has spoken on this question and we will wait to see
what the court will say," he said in an interview.

Despite its plans, the government has filed a report with the Supreme Court
that connects marijuana use to driving accidents, upper-airway cancer,
psychiatric problems and drug addiction, among other things.

"Marijuana is not a benign substance and potentially is more harmful than
presently known," the Justice Department's submission said.

Several judges during the spring hearing were frosty to the arguments of
the marijuana lobby. But they also challenged the government's assertion
that it can criminalize any behaviour it sees fit, as long as the decision
is a rational one.

Although it is rare, judges can impose prison terms of up to seven years
for marijuana possession.

Prime Minister Paul Martin said last week that the government will revive a
marijuana bill that died in November when Parliament was prorogued.

The government's proposal, however, could be a watered-down version of the
former bill, which proposed to decriminalize possession of 15 grams or
less, about the equivalent of 15 cigarettes.