CANADA'S HIGHEST COURT TO HEAR MARIJUANA CASE

An Abbotsford lawyer will have a second opportunity to challenge the
constitutionality of Canada's pot laws this spring, but worries that a
delay in the federal justice minister's decision on the decriminalization
of marijuana will delay the case again.

Lawyer John Conroy is representing Victor Eugene Caine, one of three
appellants claiming the cannabis laws violate rights protected under
Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Caine was busted for marijuana possession almost 10 years ago, when RCMP
officers in White Rock noted a strong smell of marijuana coming from a van
in which Caine and another man were parked.

The partly smoked joint Caine produced for officers weighed 0.5 grams.

David Malmo-Levine of Vancouver and Ontario's Christopher James Clay are
the other men challenging the constitutionality validity of the law.

Conroy was originally scheduled to argue the case on behalf of Caine in
December.

However, the case was adjourned, primarily because the Supreme Court of
Canada judges were not comfortable with the discrepancy between the
government's stand in court and Justice Minister Martin Cauchon's position.

Last winter, Cauchon said he was considering decriminalizing the possession
of a few joints.

That decision has reportedly been put off until summer - after Conroy's
client is scheduled in Canada's highest court. Conroy learned last week
that the case has been re-scheduled for May 6.

It will be the first time a constitutional challenge of Canada's marijuana
laws is heard in the country's highest court.