News (Media Awareness Project) - Canada: Wire: Pot Safer Than Many Foods, Lawyer Argues |
| Title: | Canada: Wire: Pot Safer Than Many Foods, Lawyer Argues |
| Published On: | 1999-10-06 |
| Source: | Canadian Press (Canada) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-05 18:39:15 |
POT SAFER THAN MANY FOODS, LAWYER ARGUES
TORONTO (CP) -- Marijuana should be decriminalized because it's safer than
many of the foods people consume, a lawyer told the Ontario Court of Appeal
today.
"You can kill lab rats with sugar -- you can't kill them with marijuana,"
said defence lawyer Alan Young, who is representing recreational pot user
Chris Clay and epileptic Terry Parker.
Young said studies suggest cannabis is one of the safest drugs out there.
He also argued Parliament did not have a reasonable basis for making
marijuana use illegal because there isn't proof the drug is significantly
harmful enough to warrant criminal sanctions.
In 1997, Clay, 28, was convicted of drug possession and trafficking charges
for selling cannabis to an undercover police officer.
Young urged the appeal court to strike down the verdict by Justice John
McCart of Ontario's Superior Court.
McCart said he believed pot-smoking was harmless and caused no serious
physical or psychological damage, and that it didn't lead to the use of
other drugs.
But the judge ruled it was up to Parliament to determine what's illegal and
said the drug charges didn't infringe on Clay's constitutional rights.
Today, Young argued Parliament has displayed a historical reluctance to
intervene in the matter and urged the appeal court to strike down a 1923
law "with no express rationale except hysterical claims."
He also said studies suggest it's a drug that is not abused by 99 per cent
of its users like harder drugs or alcohol.
Young wants the court to invalidate the possession offence, eliminate
imprisonment as a punishment or suspend the offence until Parliament makes
a decision.
On Tuesday, federal Health Minister Allan Rock said he would notify 14 more
people with serious illnesses that they can use marijuana for medical
purposes.
The federal government first gave permission for the cultivation and use of
marijuana for medical purposes in June, when Rock granted exemptions to Jim
Wakeford of Toronto and Jean-Charles Pariseau of Vanier, Ont., both of whom
have AIDS.
TORONTO (CP) -- Marijuana should be decriminalized because it's safer than
many of the foods people consume, a lawyer told the Ontario Court of Appeal
today.
"You can kill lab rats with sugar -- you can't kill them with marijuana,"
said defence lawyer Alan Young, who is representing recreational pot user
Chris Clay and epileptic Terry Parker.
Young said studies suggest cannabis is one of the safest drugs out there.
He also argued Parliament did not have a reasonable basis for making
marijuana use illegal because there isn't proof the drug is significantly
harmful enough to warrant criminal sanctions.
In 1997, Clay, 28, was convicted of drug possession and trafficking charges
for selling cannabis to an undercover police officer.
Young urged the appeal court to strike down the verdict by Justice John
McCart of Ontario's Superior Court.
McCart said he believed pot-smoking was harmless and caused no serious
physical or psychological damage, and that it didn't lead to the use of
other drugs.
But the judge ruled it was up to Parliament to determine what's illegal and
said the drug charges didn't infringe on Clay's constitutional rights.
Today, Young argued Parliament has displayed a historical reluctance to
intervene in the matter and urged the appeal court to strike down a 1923
law "with no express rationale except hysterical claims."
He also said studies suggest it's a drug that is not abused by 99 per cent
of its users like harder drugs or alcohol.
Young wants the court to invalidate the possession offence, eliminate
imprisonment as a punishment or suspend the offence until Parliament makes
a decision.
On Tuesday, federal Health Minister Allan Rock said he would notify 14 more
people with serious illnesses that they can use marijuana for medical
purposes.
The federal government first gave permission for the cultivation and use of
marijuana for medical purposes in June, when Rock granted exemptions to Jim
Wakeford of Toronto and Jean-Charles Pariseau of Vanier, Ont., both of whom
have AIDS.
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