POT CHARGES RESULT IN CHALLENGE TO CHARTER

AMHERST -- A Maccan man who says he was growing marijuana to help
himself and 300 others with medical conditions is launching a Charter
of Rights challenge in the hopes of squashing several drug charges
that have been laid against him.

"If we are successful, it is likely the trial against my client Rick
Simpson would not proceed," lawyer Jim O'Neil said in an interview Tuesday.

Mr. Simpson, who ran as an independent in the recent federal
election, was charged last summer after his property near Maccan was
raided by police, who netted more than 1,200 marijuana plants. He has
pleaded not guilt to one count each of possessing less than 30 grams
of marijuana, possessing less than three kilograms of cannabis resin
for the purpose of trafficking and unlawfully producing marijuana.

The Crown has elected to proceed summarily on the first charge and by
indictment on the latter two. As a result, Mr. Simpson faces a
maximum seven-year sentence on the production charge and five years
less a day on the trafficking charge. He faces a $1,000 fine, six
months in jail or both on the possession charge.

He has asked to be tried in Nova Scotia Supreme Court by a judge and
a jury. The date for that trial will not be set until the charter
challenge has been completed.

Mr. Simpson's charter motion will challenge the legality of parts of
the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Mr. O'Neil said.

He said a 2003 ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal on the legality
of the medical use of marijuana would be a factor in Mr. Simpson's challenge.

The legal principles behind the Supreme Court of Canada's recent
landmark ruling that pornography laws do not apply to consenting
adults who participate in swingers clubs will also have a bearing on
Mr. Simpson's case, Mr. O'Neil said.

Pointing to a stack of affidavits, the lawyer said there are 36
people who are willing to give evidence that they not only consented
to use the hemp oil that Mr. Simpson manufactured and provided to
them free of charge, but were cured of some serious diseases, including cancer.

"Ricky Simpson is not asking for the carte blanche legalization of
the use of marijuana," Mr. O'Neil said.

"Indeed, the public might well be concerned that significant public
resources are being used to prosecute a man who is only attempting to
assist his fellow human beings.

To seek to lump Mr. Simpson along with those who would traffic in
serious drugs for profit seems completely inappropriate to me."

The charter challenge will be filed with the Nova Scotia Supreme
Court on March 6.