STONED-WALLED

Rebagliati's Career Out Of Joint Since Marijuana Test

Ross Rebagliati became the butt of many jokes after he tested positive for
marijuana at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

You know, stuff like: They should offer the snowboard champion a box of
chocolate eclairs, not a gold medal. Or, Rebagliati is great on snow and on
grass.

Shortly after being stripped of his gold medal, the International Olympic
Committee reinstated the snowboard dude. Other than angering a few
conservatives, his positive test for marijuana was not considered a crime
worthy of 25 years in prison or anything like that.

Unfortunately, that positive test haunts Rebagliati to this day and has, in
fact, prevented him from pursuing many of his post-Olympic dreams.

The worst fallout is that the Whistler, B.C., resident is still banned from
visiting the U.S. and that severely has affected his ability to make a
living. Rebagliati left the pro snowboard circuit in 2000 mainly because he
was unable to compete in the U.S. events.

Rebagliati, 31, was turned back at the American border prior to the 2002
Salt Lake City Olympics as a result of his marijuana positive -- even though
he never was charged or convicted of anything. It took a special
dispensation for the snowboard legend to attend the Games as a spectator.

"It went all the way to Washington, D.C., to get me in the country,"
Rebagliati said yesterday during a news conference to launch a line of Roots
sportswear to honour the Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Olympic bid. "It's ongoing,
I'm just trying to play my cards right and not ruffle too many feathers."

Rebagliati has retained a lawyer in an effort to have his ban rescinded, so
if there is work to be had south of the border, he can grab it.

It goes without saying that Rebagliati is all for the Canadian government's
plans to decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot.

"The whole idea of it being decriminalized makes the legal system function
at a level it should be functioning at and not clogging up the courts,
judicial system and even jails," he said. "It's becoming more socially
accepted now than it ever has been in the past."

Rebagliati still spends most of his time in Whistler, where he is building a
house with his girlfriend, Jennifer. When not acting as an ambassador for
the Vancouver bid -- his reason for being in Toronto yesterday -- Rebagliati
spends his time snowboarding in the winter and, in the summer, playing golf
and racing stock cars. In fact, his "wild dream" is to pursue car racing or
golf as a full-time occupation. If that doesn't work out, he would like to
get into show biz, or perhaps real estate. The IOC votes on the host site
for the 2010 Winter Games on July 2. Vancouver/Whistler is considered one of
the favourites.