POT USE OK FOR SOME, JUDGE SAYS

Laws Banning Sale Called Unconstitutional for Sick People Granted
Permission to Use Drug

Canadian drug laws banning the sale of marijuana to sick people who have
been granted permission to use the drug are unconstitutional, a Quebec
judge said yesterday.

Judge Gilles Cadieux said the federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms
protects the right to liberty and security of the person.

He suggested such rights include the use of cannabis by patients who have
been granted a medical exemption and who can be proven to benefit from
using the drug.

Cadieux made the statements at the trial of two men charged with
drug-trafficking and possession at a non-profit centre that provided
marijuana to those suffering from chronic illnesses.

It was not clear yesterday what immediate effect the judge's statement in
Quebec court would have on the use and sale of medicinal marijuana in Canada.

The impact on the defendants, Marc-Boris St-Maurice, 33, and Alexandre
Neron, 23, was also unclear.

The charges against the two men remained in effect yesterday, and legal
arguments in the case are set to resume May 13.

But defence lawyer Pierre Leger said the judge's comments were an important
step toward prompt and legal marijuana distribution at so-called compassion
clubs that offer medicinal marijuana across the country.

"It's very good news," Leger said outside the courtroom.

"In the last five years, the courts have forced the federal government to
give people access to the marijuana when they need it for medical purposes."

Neron and St-Maurice, the leader of the federal Marijuana party, were
arrested in 2000 after police raided the Compassion Club in Montreal and
seized 66 grams of marijuana.

Leger is challenging the constitutionality of the drug laws, saying they
don't take into account the federal exemption granted to people allowing
them to smoke marijuana to alleviate pain and the side-effects of
prescription drugs.

The Compassion Club case could last several more months following recent
developments related to the use of medicinal marijuana in Canada.

The Quebec College of Physicians has barred its members from granting
medical permission to use the drug, even if patients have been granted a
federal exemption.

And the federal Health Department announced Monday it won't release any of
the marijuana being grown for the government to distribute to sick and
dying patients until it has been tested in clinical trials.

In response, Leger submitted a motion yesterday to call four more
witnesses, including a patient who is unable to obtain marijuana in Quebec
despite permission from the federal government to do so.

Crown lawyer Robert Marchi said it's too early to tell what effect
Cadieux's latest statements will have on the sale and use of medicinal
marijuana in Canada.