CROWN TO SEEK ADJOURNMENTS ON POT CHARGES DUE TO RULING

The federal Crown will seek adjournments on simple pot possession charges
in Nova Scotia until an appeal of a Dartmouth provincial court judge's
ruling questioning Canada's marijuana laws.

"Adjournments, if agreed to by the defence and the courts, will have the
same effect of allowing matters to wait until the hearing of the appeal
without calling into question the validity of the law," Glenn Chamberlain,
a federal Justice Department spokesman, said Tuesday.

"It's our position that the law remains in effect and is enforceable," Mr.
Chamberlain said, referring to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Last month, Judge Flora Buchan stayed a possession charge against Paula
Clarke, 29, of Minesville, Halifax County.

Judge Buchan followed the lead of judges in Ontario and Prince Edward
Island, who granted similar stays, arguing the country's marijuana laws are
unclear.

In her decision, Judge Buchan questioned whether it is an abuse of the
court process to permit the federal Crown to prosecute drug matters that
have been stayed in three provinces.

"All Canadians are entitled to expect uniformity from the federal Crown,"
she said.

Mr. Chamberlain said adjournments will also be sought in P.E.I., where a
similar ruling is under appeal.

About 400 people faced drug possession charges in Nova Scotia last year.

"As far as our grounds for appeal," Mr. Chamberlain said, "we are just
going to say that the judge erred in issuing a stay in the Clarke matter."

He said Ms. Clarke was notified last week of the Crown's intentions.

A date for the appeal has yet to be set.

"It's up to the court," Mr. Chamberlain said. "But one would presume that
the court would be aware of the necessity to hear this expeditiously
because of the volume of cases it will affect."

MLA Howard Epstein said the Crown plans make sense.

"It raises a question of whether this is a waste of police time bothering,
arresting and charging people on the basis of laws that have been widely
ruled in the country to be improper," Mr. Epstein said at Province House.

"It's a question if it's a valid use of court time."

He said many cases could be thrown out if they are delayed for too long.

The controversy began in 2000, when the Ontario Appeal Court ruled that
federal drug laws violated the rights of a man who smoked pot for medical
reasons.

The court gave Parliament one year to revamp the law. But when Ottawa
failed to do so, the Ontario court threw out marijuana charges against a
16-year-old on Jan. 2, 2003.

Judges in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia followed suit.

A Commons committee recently recommended that people be allowed to have up
to 30 grams of marijuana without risking criminal penalties.

Federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon welcomed the recommendation, saying
he intends to decriminalize simple possession.

Provincial Justice Minister Jamie Muir said he spoke to Mr. Cauchon about
the issue a couple of weeks ago.

"He indicated to me certainly the matter would be cleared up in a month or
so," Mr. Muir said.