SMOKING POT NOT A RIGHT: TOP COURT

Judges Uphold Marijuana Ban

OTTAWA -- There is no free-standing right to get stoned, Canada's top
court ruled yesterday.

Tokers hoping for relaxed marijuana laws instead got a lump of coal as
the Supreme Court of Canada upheld 6-3 a federal law banning
possession of small amounts of pot.

"I'm bummed out, man," said David Malmo-Levine, a self-styled pot
freedom crusader in Vancouver.

"I was dreaming of a green Christmas but they grinched out on
us.

"Their hearts are two sizes too small."

Malmo-Levine, 32, and two other men failed to convince a majority of
the top judges that pot penalties are out of whack with constitutional
guarantees of fundamental justice. The ban on possessing even tiny
amounts does not violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, said the
court of last resort. It's up to Parliament to decriminalize the drug,
says the 82-page ruling -- something Prime Minister Paul Martin has
signalled could happen with a bill to be reintroduced next year.

Ottawa should act with caution, said Tony Cannavino, president of the
Canadian Professional Police Association. The group represents 54,000
rank-and-file members.

A national strategy to deter drug use is needed first, he
stressed.

Yesterday's ruling simply clears the way for the government's plans,
said Mario Lague, a spokesman for the prime minister.

Dissenting justices Louise Arbour, Louis LeBel and Marie Deschamps
said a law that threatens casual pot users with potential jail time is
like killing flies with a sledgehammer.

Charter guarantees of fundamental justice are undercut by a law that
can convict people "whose conduct causes little or no reasoned risk of
harm to others," wrote Arbour.

The high-court majority, however, said Parliament acted to limit pot
use out of a valid state interest in stemming related harms that are
not "insignificant or trivial".

The federal government filed a report to the court linking pot use
with car crashes, respiratory cancer, addiction and other hazards.

Geoff Hughes, a Winnipeg activist and co-founder of the Manitoba
Compassion Club, which provides marijuana to people with medicinal
needs, said the court ruling is a setback.

Hughes said he's hopeful Martin will go ahead with plans to
decriminalize possession of small amounts of

marijuana.

However, he said Ottawa needs to take it a step further. Hughes said
people should be allowed to either grow their own pot or the
government should set up a distribution network. He said that way it
would eliminate the criminal element who profit from the sale of the
drug.

The prime minister says he'll reintroduce a bill, first proposed under
Jean Chretien, to wipe out criminal penalties -- including potential
jail time and lasting records -- for those caught with small amounts
of pot.

A summary conviction for simple possession carries a penalty of up to
six months in jail, a $1,000 fine or both for a first offence. Those
convicted of a more serious indictable offence, which is rare, face up
to seven years in prison. The bill did not legalize the drug, and
maintained or increased already-stiff penalties for large-scale
growers and traffickers.

The legislation made possession of less than 15 grams of pot a minor
offence punishable by fines of $100 to $400, much like traffic tickets.

Critics said 15 grams is too much to equate with casual use. They also
questioned how police, with no equivalent of an alcohol breath test,
would assess those who drive while high.