JUDGE STAYS MARIJUANA CHARGE

N.S. Court Follows Ontario, P.E.I. In Putting Aside Case Of Simple Possession

A judge has made Nova Scotia the third province in which marijuana users
are unlikely to be convicted for simple possession.

Judge Flora Buchan stayed the proceedings against Paula Clarke of
Minesville Monday, when she ruled on a pretrial motion in Dartmouth
provincial court.

Given rulings in similar cases in Ontario and P.E.I. earlier this year, and
based on a previous ruling in a medical marijuana case, "it would be
oppressive and vexatious to allow a prosecution to proceed," Buchan said.

Defence lawyer Allan Doughty, who won the motion yesterday, said although
Clarke's case has nothing specifically to do with medical marijuana, the
fact that the law is not properly written is what matters.

"The law itself is bad, and it violates her constitutional rights," he said.

Like the other rulings in recent months, yesterday's decision came in
provincial court, which means it is not binding to other provincial court
judges, either in Nova Scotia or across Canada, but it is likely they will
follow suit.

Federal Crown prosecutors will consult with officials in Ottawa before
deciding if they will stay charges in all cases of simple possession
throughout the province, said Justice Department spokesman Glenn Chamberlain.

"On P.E.I., we are staying charges until the appeal is heard," he said. "We
do anticipate that in very short order we'll know whether we'll appeal
(yesterday's decision), and based on that decision we'll know how to
proceed with other charges."

If the department plans to appeal, it make sense to do so for just one
case, rather than a large backlog of cases, Chamberlain said. When a charge
is stayed, the Crown has up to a year to restart the proceedings.

That could be an academic point, though, since federal Justice Minister
Martin Cauchon has said he intends to reform the law this year and
decriminalize simple possession.

In the meantime, police and RCMP both say they will continue to make
arrests for marijuana possession, but it is up to the Crown to decide
whether to take the cases to court.

"The laws haven't been changed," said Halifax Regional Police spokesman
Sgt. Don Spicer. "Until such time as -- and if -- they are changed, we will
continue to make arrests."