JUDGE EXTINGUISHES POT ADVOCATE'S LAWSUIT

A pot advocate's lawsuit against a judge is up in smoke, after another
judge ordered him to drop it yesterday.

Michael Ronald Patriquen, an ex-Marijuana Party candidate, also tried to
sue Crown attorney James Martin for allegedly not disclosing evidence
crucial to the case against him.

Patriquen, of Middle Sackville, is accused of growing and selling
marijuana, but is still hoping to get the charges quashed.

Arguing Canada's marijuana laws are unconstitutional, he sued Halifax
provincial court Judge Patrick Curran last month, on the grounds he has no
jurisdiction to hear the case.

Curran was to hear Patriquen's preliminary hearing last week, but adjourned
the case until the constitutional challenge could be addressed.

At Nova Scotia Supreme Court yesterday, Justice John Murphy ruled the drug
charges can proceed and that Patriquen's civil actions would have stalled
them indefinitely.

Patriquen, 48, was charged in February 2000 of possessing marijuana,
conspiring to possess the drug for the purpose of trafficking and
conspiracy to produce marijuana.

Technically, Murphy struck down only the first stage of the lawsuit and
Patriquen is free to launch another one. He can also raise the
constitutional challenge in a criminal trial.

Patriquen told reporters yesterday he will appeal Murphy's ruling. He
refused to be "trampled on" after spending so much time and money fighting
the case, he said.

"I feel we've been let down by the Supreme Court today and we'll certainly
be seeking redress," Patriquen said outside court.

His wife, Melanie Stephen, who ran as a Marijuana Party candidate alongside
Patriquen in last fall's federal election, charged out of the courtroom
yesterday during the judge's ruling.

"So much for justice," she said.

Patriquen's lawyer, Walter Thompson, says the issue is ultimately whether
or not Parliament has the power, under Canada's Constitution, to forbid the
recreational use of marijuana.