POT POSSESSION APPEAL DISMISSED

A higher court has upheld the decision of a Summerside judge to stay a
simple pot possession charge against an Island teenager earlier this year.

March 14, Judge Ralph C. Thompson stayed the simple possession of marijuana
charge in Summerside's Provincial Court.

Thompson had ruled it wouldn't be fair to prosecute him when Ontarians (at
the time) had immunity from the same charge.

In his ruling, Thompson had referred to cases from Ontario that had
effectively struck down the pot possession law.

Courts in one province don't have to follow the rulings of those in other
provinces, but they typically take them under consideration.

Drug possession laws across Canada come under the domain of the Federal
Crown. Judge Thompson had ruled that the law should therefore be applied
the same across the country.

The federal crown appealed Thompson's ruling, and the appeal was heard in
the Supreme Court Trial Division Sept. 3.

In its appeal, the federal Crown argued Thompson had erred by imposing a
stay of proceedings.

Among other points, the Crown said Thompson had erred in the finding that
the simple pot possession law had been struck down in Ontario for all uses
of marijuana (and not just medical use). The Crown also argued the court
decisions in Ontario do not bind the Federal Crown from prosecuting in this
province.

In dismissing the appeal, Justice Jacqueline Matheson said Thompson had not
erred in imposing the stay.

Reviewing the case law out of Ontario, she ruled that the law prohibiting
pot possession was invalid in Ontario at the time. She also accepted
Thompson's consideration of case law from Ontario higher courts "as a
persuasive authority."

What this all means for those charged with pot possession is unclear.

Lawyer Cliff McCabe, who represented the young man, said what will happen
with pot possession charges remains to be seen. "I'm just hoping it's over
for my client," McCabe said, noting the family had been pleased with the
ruling.

For the charge to proceed, the crown would have to appeal this latest ruling.

Gordon Scott Campbell, with the Federal Prosecution Service, said that's a
possibility.

"All I can say at this point is we're studying the decision," he said. He
noted they still have to analyze what the impact of the decision is on this
case and others in the province and to determine whether or not the Crown
will appeal.

As it stands now, Campbell said the simple pot possession charge is valid
in Ontario. An Ontario appeal court essentially fixed the law Oct. 7. It
did so by striking out certain provisions in the federal government's
medicinal marijuan regulations that had been deemed as not providing a
constitutionally acceptable medical provision to use marijuana.

That has been interpreted to mean -- as Matheson refers to in her decision
- -- there's essentially a window of time the possession law wasn't in force
(between July 31, 2001, and Oct. 7).

But the federal Crown is still considering whether or not to appeal Ontario
cases as well.