POT LAWS WON'T BE ENFORCED LOCALLY

Nottawasaga OPP officers are now using their discretion when it comes to
charging people with simple possession of marijuana.

Acting on a directive from OPP Commissioner Gwen Boniface, the local
detachment will seize the marijuana and document the case but not press
charges for possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana, said Nottawasaga
OPP detachment commander, Insp. Mark Allen.

"The laws concerning possession are still on the books," he quoted Boniface
as saying.

That means the circumstances of the incident will be recorded, with a view
to possibly laying a charge later on.

Allen said there are about 10 to 15 simple possession charges typically
laid in a month in the detachment area which covers New Tecumseth, Essa and
Adjala-Tosorontio.

The OPP's stance is the same as the one taken last week by the Ontario
Association of Chiefs of Police.

Both organizations are waiting for clarification of the law by the court of
appeal or the House of Commons.

The case in question is a May 16 decision by Mr. Justice Steven Rogin of
the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, who upheld a lower court decision to
quash a charge against a youth for possessing less than 30 grams of
marijuana because the law is no longer valid.

Since then, judges across Ontario have followed Rogin's lead and thrown out
charges against against people charged with simple possession.

With Rogin's decision being appealed to the Ontario Court of Appeal and the
government's decision to decriminalize the possession of up to 15 grams of
marijuana, the legal situation is murky.

Jim Leising, director of the Department of Justice's federal prosecution
services in Ontario, said federal crown attorneys, including those in
Simcoe County, have been given direction to adjourn or stay cases currently
before the courts involving simple possession, pending the outcome of the
case being heard this week.

- -- with files from the Torstar Network