JUDGE ACQUITS ACCUSED TOKER

A man accused of toking and driving was found not guilty yesterday
after a judge found there was no way to assess the effect pot might
have had on the man.

"I don't have any evidence as to the effect marijuana may have had on
a person. How can one make that giant leap between proof of
consumption and the effect of consumption?" said Justice Richard
Lajoie as he found Stephen Ayotte, 33, not guilty of impaired driving.

Lajoie said he could not find impairment even if he accepted testimony
by Const. Michael O'Reilly that the accused man confessed to smoking a
couple of joints before his arrest May 1, 2005. Ayotte denied smoking
any marijuana that day and denied making such an admission.

Lajoie noted O'Reilly did not detect any odour of marijuana in
Ayotte's car or in the police cruiser when he arrested him.

LITTLE SLEEP

Ayotte had knocked on the doors of two homes in Dunrobin that night
asking for help for a flat tire. The people who answered the door at
one home found Ayotte's behaviour odd and called the police. Ayotte
testified he had had little sleep and little to eat leading up to the
incident, as he was under stress due to the breakup of his common-law
marriage.