CANADA'S HIGHEST COURT KEEPS MARIJUANA POSSESSION ILLEGAL

TORONTO (AP) -- Canada's top court ruled Tuesday to keep marijuana
possession illegal, dealing a blow to activists who had argued the
drug causes no serious harm.

In a 6-3 decision spanning 400 pages, the Supreme Court of Canada
ruled that possession, even in small amounts, would remain a criminal
offense. In a separate, unanimous decision, it maintained trafficking
was illegal.

Advertisement The judgment prompted praise from law enforcement groups
and disappointment from proponents of legalization.

"My huge patriotism may slowly be dissipating. I have a lot of faith
in my country, in freedom and justice, but it doesn't seem like we
have a whole lot of that left," said Dominic Kramer, a marijuana
activist who runs a store that sells hemp products and paraphernalia
in Toronto.

Tony Cannavino, president of the Canadian Police Association, welcomed
the decision but expressed concern over a proposed bill by Prime
Minister Paul Martin that would soften penalties for pot possession.
He said marijuana growing seemed to be on the rise.

"We have more and more 'grow ops' across the country," he told
reporters in Ottawa. "You wouldn't see that 10 years ago."

A key question in the Supreme Court decision was whether Parliament
has the constitutional right to punish marijuana possession, given the
lack of proven serious harms from its use.

The high court examined three cases involving two pot activists and
one man who was caught smoking. All three failed to persuade lower
courts that the pot law is unconstitutional.

Defendant David Malmo-Levine took a hit of hash last May before
arguing his case in person at the high court while dressed head-to-toe
in clothes made of hemp cloth. He once ran the Harm Reduction Club, a
non-profit cooperative in Vancouver that offered advice on safe
marijuana use while supplying it to some 1,800 members.

Another case centered on Christopher Clay, who ran the Hemp Nation in
London, Ontario, a store he started with a government loan. He sold
marijuana seeds and seedlings in a deliberate challenge to the law.

Last week Martin said he planned to reintroduce a bill, first proposed
under former Prime Minister Jean Chretien, that would wipe out
potential jail time and criminal records for those convicted of
marijuana possession.

The bill did not legalize the drug, and maintained or increased
already stiff penalties for large-scale growers and traffickers. It
made possession of less than 15 grams of pot a minor offense
punishable by fines of $100 to $400, much like traffic tickets.

Critics said 15 grams, the equivalent of roughly 15 to 20 joints, was
too much to equate with casual use.

But the legislation died when Parliament adjourned last month to give
Martin a fresh start in January.