POT RULING PUTS COPS BACK ON TRACK

Recreational Users No Longer Immune To Criminal Charges

Tuesday's Appeal Court ruling on marijuana possession clears up uncertainty
for cops who were left in legal limbo for months, says York Region's police
chief.

"We have been in a state of confusion, I would suggest," Armand La Barge
said after the ruling was released. "I know our officers have really
struggled with this."

The Appeal Court decision clears up constitutional confusion over the
medical use of marijuana and reinstates the Criminal Code prohibition on
simple possession.

Since last summer, possession of small amounts of marijuana had been
considered legal after an Ontario judge ruled possessing less than 30 grams
of pot was no longer against the law.

Tuesday's ruling makes possession illegal for recreational users but
ensures a stable source of government-approved pot for those prescribed it
for medicinal purposes.

Chief La Barge is relieved the court ruling has reinstated the law. An
opponent of decriminalization, he was frustrated by the legal vacuum that
had existed for the past few months.

Problems for officers ranged from the mundane -- such as people smoking
dope in public -- to the extreme, he said.

"We had to actually take a report of a theft where two individuals had
accosted a young person and stole marijuana from a backpack," the chief said.

Federal prosecutor Brent Cumming said the decision clears the way for
prosecution of new possession charges at the Newmarket courthouse. But it
remains to be seen whether or not charges left in limbo will be pursued.

"Some cases were stayed pending the (Appeal Court ruling) and others were
not proceeded with because some judges took the view they were
unprosecutable," he said.

Other marijuana-related charges, such as trafficking and operating grow
houses, have been proceeding as normal.

Now local prosecutors are awaiting direction from Ottawa on whether or not
possession cases that have been stayed will be reopened.

"It's possible, but as of yet undetermined," Mr. Cumming said.

"That is ultimately the department of justice's decision."

Of course, not everyone is pleased with Tuesday's ruling.

"It's good for the medical people; I'm happy for them," said Tim Meehan, of
the Ontario Consumers for Safe Access to Recreational Cannabis.

But recreational users are back on the wrong side of the law, he noted.

"I'm a little disappointed, but the political battle is just heating up,"
Mr. Meehan said.

"Why is the state getting into the business of people who want to use
recreational marijuana?"

Still, Mr. Meehan said he is confident that one day soon, marijuana use
will be decriminalized. But he doesn't expect the Liberals in Ottawa to
totally legalize pot, suggesting pressure from the United States government
will nip any such move in the bud.

"(The feds) won't legalize it for obvious reasons, the most obvious being
the United States," Mr. Meehan said.

Chief La Barge said before decriminalizing marijuana use, Ottawa must put a
number of measures in place, including a means of detecting and punishing
those who drive after smoking pot.

"You need to think beyond simply changing the law and (consider) the
ramifications," the chief said.

Chief La Barge warned decriminalization will increase use, creating higher
profits for organized crime.

The legal confusion over marijuana possession started last January when
Ontario Court Justice Sidney Lederman left Canada's pot possession laws in
tatters because it made it impossible to permit medicinal use while
prohibiting possession for everyone else.

Justice Lederman gave the government a July 9 deadline to either fix the
regulations or supply the pot itself to users of medical marijuana.

Ottawa then instituted an interim policy that would see it sell pot at set
prices to approved users, but also launched an appeal of the ruling, saying
it shouldn't be forced to provide a legal source of marijuana.