COURT UPHOLDS POT LAW

Dope Advocates' Christmas Dreams Go Up In Smoke

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Tuesday to keep possession of even small
amounts of pot illegal.

In a vote of 6-3, the court upheld a federal law banning the possession of
small quantities of marijuana for personal use.

It was decided that forbidding pot ownership is constitutional as it does
not violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Chatham-Kent Police Service Insp. Wessley Dore applauded the decision.

"I believe the police services would praise the decision and believe it to
be in the best interests of all citizens of Ontario."

In backing up the decision, Dore said he sees the tremendous harm done to
Canadians and society as a whole by illicit drugs and the business that
accompanies the illegal drug trade.

"This conveys a clear message to everyone that drugs are harmful and that
police want to work towards the absence of drugs in our society," Dore said.

Dore said police services are dealing with continued increases in the
number of grow operations both locally in Chatham-Kent and across the
country in recent years.

He said with the selling of illegal substances comes the involvement of
organized crime looking to capitalize on large drug related revenue.

"The further we get involved in that, the more active (we become) in
violent crimes, home invasions and even homicides," he said.

Members of the Canadian Professional Police Association are pleased with
the ruling, which upholds criminal charges for possession and trafficking,
said president Tony Cannavino.

"Today's rulings send at least a clear message about the legitimacy of our
current laws pertaining to marijuana," he said.

"Over the years, the ongoing debate about the decriminalization of
marijuana and more recently around Bill C-38 have unfortunately fed the
perception of a higher tolerance towards marijuana possession and trafficking."

The Supreme Court decision forces the federal government to again deal with
the legalization issue as caucus studies alternatives to pot laws.

"Our concern is solely with the issue of constitutionality," said the
judgment, co-written by justices Charles Gonthier and Ian Binnie.

"We conclude that it is within Parliament's legislative jurisdiction to
criminalize the possession of marijuana, should it choose to do so.

"Equally, it is open to Parliament to decriminalize or otherwise modify any
aspect of the marijuana laws that it no longer considers to be good public
policy."

In a separate judgment, the court also upheld by 9-0 federal law
prohibiting possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking.

The court's decision upset pot advocates.

. With files from The Canadian Press