MARIJUANA ACTIVISTS ON CLOUD 9 AFTER REPORT

(CP) There was more than the usual buzz yesterday at the downtown Vancouver
headquarters of the B.C. Marijuana Party.

As news circulated, along with the pungent aroma of burning pot, that a
Senate committee had recommended the legalization of marijuana, party head
Marc Emery was busy bouncing among media interviews.

Emery, arguably Canada's best-known pot advocate, was visibly ecstatic and
admittedly stunned at the way the stereotypical stodgy senators had
suddenly become, well, dudes.

"It's a beacon of light from the Senate," said Emery, a mayoral candidate
in the city's November election. "It's wonderful. I was stunned by the
enlightenment in this report."

Emery called the report the "most far-reaching document of any Western
country or any place in the world" in regards to marijuana.

"It goes further than Switzerland, further than Holland and is certainly
light years ahead of the United States," he said.

David Malmo-Levine, another longtime pot legalization activist, said he was
"ecstatic."

He is heading to the Supreme Court of Canada in a few months on a pot
conviction, along with two others.

"I'm euphoric. I'm blown away."

Malmo-Levine will argue his own case before the nine justices, as he did
before the B.C. Court of Appeal, but now bolstered by the Senate
committee's pot pronouncements.

"The senators have gotten us all high out here on the West Coast," he said.
"I'm glad that age does not seem to remove common sense from your brain."

Malmo-Levine was found guilty of possession of marijuana for the purpose of
trafficking.

The B.C. Court of Appeal upheld the conviction, but a dissenting judge
stated the risk must be significant if Parliament is to intervene
criminally in people's lives.

The judge wrote that simple possession does not meet that test.

Malmo-Levine will be joined by two other Canadians -- convicted pot smokers
- -- who will argue Dec. 13 that federal marijuana laws are unconstitutional.

The much anticipated case was among 36 listed yesterday by the Supreme
Court of Canada in its busy fall docket, which begins Sept. 30.

The appeal covers three cases involving Malmo-Levine, Victor Eugene Caine
of Langley and Chris Clay of London, Ont.

All three argue that pot, if properly used, is harmless. Moreover, they
say, laws prohibiting its personal use infringe on the right to life,
liberty and security guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Scott Hearty, who works at the Marijuana Party Book Shop, passed a joint
around as he too wondered at the Senate's work. "I'm in awe," he said.
"They were supposed to consider decriminalization options and they said
legalization."

Still, Hearty is wary of the reaction in the House of Commons and by the
U.S. "There will be a lot of pressure on Ottawa from the U.S. government
and it's hard to say how they'll react."

But Emery said the Senate report might help the Commons.

"The Supreme Court will be greatly emboldened and empowered by nine Senate
members unanimously saying legalize marijuana," reasoned Emery.

"A lot of us suspect that all along the House of Commons wants the Supreme
Court to rule on this so they can go to the Americans and say, 'It's not
our fault. It was that Liberal-minded court.' "