JUDGE WEEDS THROUGH MARIJUANA TESTIMONY

Duelling Experts

Cannabis is effective for pain relief and appetite stimulation for the
chronically ill, agreed two duelling experts in an ongoing court
challenge to the country's marijuana laws.

But the overall impact of marijuana use still appears quite unsettled,
despite dozens of scientific studies in the past several decades, an
Ontario Superior Court judge was told.

"In this field, we are hampered by 95 years of propaganda," said Dr.
David Bearman, a California-based physician testifying on behalf of
the Church of the Universe.

Studies that show a possible link between heavy marijuana use and
schizophrenia or depression, may suffer from a "cart before the horse"
problem in the conclusions, observed Dr. Harold Kalant, an expert
witness for the federal government.

The two experts, with nearly 100 years of combined experience in their
fields, are the latest witnesses in a wide-ranging hearing before
Ontario Superior Court Justice Thea Herman.

Two members of the Church of the Universe charged with trafficking
small amounts of marijuana, are asking the judge to throw out the
charges on religious grounds. They say cannabis is a "sacrament" in
their religion. The prohibition on marijuana use violates their
freedom of religion in the Charter of Rights, their lawyers state.

Federal prosecutors have argued the religious claim is a ruse by
people who are simply marijuana enthusiasts.

Judge Herman has been presented with an encyclopedic amount of
information about marijuana since the hearing began nearly four weeks
ago, including claims that even Jesus came into contact with cannabis.

About five members of the Church of the Universe have attended the
hearing each day and can often be seen consuming their "sacrament" on
the lawn outside the Ontario Court of Appeal, the province's highest
court.

The testimony about the health impact of marijuana use is the most
recent evidence, before the judge hears from experts on what is
necessary to be considered a religion.

Dr. Kalant, who began his addiction research more than 50 years ago
and is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, testified
that cannabis use affects short-term memory and problem solving. "The
long-term effects are less clear as to whether there is a permanent
change in the brain or a continuous state of partial intoxication,"
said Dr. Kalant.

While there are health risks associated with marijuana, Dr. Kalant
agreed there is a legitimate argument to be made that it is not more
harmful to society than alcohol.

In his testimony as an expert witness called by the Church of the
Universe, marijuana was described as "safe" by Dr. Bearman. "Safe does
not mean it is harmless. I can't think of a therapeutic substance that
does not have side effects," said the witness, former co-director of
the Haight-Ashbury Drug Treatment Program.

The witness came under fire from Crown attorney Donna Polgar, who
accused Dr. Bearman of being an "advocate" instead of a neutral
witness. The Crown suggested Dr. Bearman was also wrong about the
conclusions of one study, when he said there is evidence some people
can smoke marijuana and drive safely.