COMPASSION CLUB TRIAL MAY WEIGH FEDS' POT RULES

A Quebec Court judge agreed yesterday to hear evidence about whether recent
federal regulations allowing authorized Canadians to smoke marijuana for
medicinal purposes are useful - in practise, as opposed to theory - for
ailing Quebecers.

Judge Gilles Cadieux agreed to hear from two of four witnesses proposed by
the defence in the trial of two Compassion Club of Montreal volunteers.

Marijuana Party leaders and activists Marc St-Maurice and Alexandre Neron
were charged with marijuana possession and trafficking following a police
raid on the Rachel St. centre more than two years ago.

About 66 grams of marijuana were seized at the non-profit centre, the court
heard.

The men contend the laws used to charge them contravene Canada's constitution.

In July 2000, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the prohibition of
marijuana under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act was
unconstitutional. The declaration of invalidity was suspended for a year so
the government could create rules allowing for the medical use of marijuana.

Amendments to the act were announced in April 2001. The rules provide
exemptions for people suffering from serious medical conditions.

Cadieux, who set the next court appearance for June 13, yesterday refused
to permit the calling of officials from the Quebec College of Physicians.
The college's decision to tell its members that they shouldn't prescribe
marijuana even if patients have been granted a federal exemption, is not
relevant to the activists' case, Cadieux said.

Crown lawyer Robert Marchi argured that if the activists didn't like the
new federal regulations, they should attack them directly but shouldn't be
allowed to challenge them "indirectly" through the current case.

Cadieux, who said he wanted to know the impact of the regulations on
Compassion Club members, has already indicated that he considers the
marijuana laws unconstitutional.

He has asked defence and crown lawyer for their proposals on how to address
that failure in this case.

Cadieux agreed to hear from Claude Messier, a muscular dystrophy patient
who, last year, was one of 251 Canadians with an exemption from Health
Canada to smoke pot for medical purposes.

Messier is in failing health and is unable to travel but can tender
evidence through an affidavit, court heard yesterday.

Caroline Doyer, co-founder of the city's Compassion Club, could also
testify about the impact of the regulations on the clubs' patients and
operations, Cadieux said.