B.C. PROVINCIAL COURT DECRIMINALIZES POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA

VANCOUVER (CP) - A B.C. provincial court decriminalized possession of
marijuana Monday.

In a ruling, the court said "there is no offence known to law at this time
for simple possession of marijuana." The decision follows similar rulings in
Ontario, P.E.I. and Nova Scotia. It relies on an July 2000 decision by the
Ontario Court of Appeal in which the judge declared the law prohibiting
simple possession to be constitutionally invalid because it did not have an
exemption for medical use.

The defendant was an epileptic who said he needed cannabis to control
life-threatening seizures.

Parliament was given one year to deal with the legal loophole and it came up
with the Medical Marijuana Access Regulations.

But the Ontario and B.C. courts have said that wasn't enough, noting the
regulations don't have the force of law and can be amended without debate.

As a result, the law prohibiting possession was held to have been stricken
from the books by the ruling in the Ontario case.