OTTAWA STILL UNDECIDED ON POT APPEAL

Government Has 60 Days To Consider Ruling

OTTAWA - The federal government hasn't yet decided how to respond to a court
decision that called for new rules on medical use of marijuana and struck
down the law making it a crime to possess pot.

"It's a pretty complex decision so we need to take the time to look at it,''
said Farah Mohamed, a spokesperson for Justice Minister Anne McLellan.

The government has 60 days to decide whether to appeal Monday's Ontario
Court of Appeal ruling that the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act is
unconstitutional.

"So the decision itself is being looked at from all angles,'' Mohamed said.

The court said the law forces people like Torontonian Terry Parker, who
smokes pot to prevent epileptic seizures, to risk arrest for seeking
effective treatment.

The court gave Parliament 12 months to rewrite the appropriate sections of
the law to include clearer medical exemptions from prosecution.

The law stays in effect until then. Under the current law, it is illegal to
possess and cultivate marijuana. People who need it for medicinal purposes
can apply for exemptions, but the criteria on medical use - which are the
responsibility of the health department - are fuzzy and only about 50 such
exemptions have been granted.

Police said it's business as usual. "Possession of marijuana is still an
offence in Ontario,'' said Detective Inspector Jim Hutchinson, who heads the
Ontario Provincial Police's drug enforcement section.

The provincial force was in Barrie yesterday to mark the launch of an annual
program to locate marijuana crops from the air, which will last until
Thanksgiving.

The OPP has a helicopter dedicated full-time to the hunt for marijuana
plants. But Hutchinson said it likely won't be a great year for marijuana
growers; their plants are being stunted by the bad weather.

"This hasn't been a good growing season for corn and other crops, and I
think it's going to be the same thing for marijuana,'' Hutchinson said.

Toronto police Chief Julian Fantino said he was pleased that the court
ruling will force Ottawa to consider its pot policy.

Fantino does not favour legalizing marijuana, but said the government has to
take a very serious look at how to handle its use for medicinal purposes and
decriminalizing possession of very small amounts.