COURTS AWAIT APPEAL RULING, WHILE POLICE CONTINUE BUSINESS AS USUAL

Marijuana possession charges dropped against two accused in Kenora Ontario
Court of Justice Monday were not related to the on-going confusion about
the Canada's pot laws.

"Those two situations didn't have anything to do with the current question
about the simple possession of marijuana," said federal Crown attorney
Stephen Lundin, who prosecutes charges under the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act in Kenora and Red Lake.

"They were situations where the amount of marijuana was very minimal. And
the accused were in greater jeopardy on their Criminal Code matters."

In January, a Windsor, Ontario judge threw out simple possession charges
against a 16-year-old on the basis that there is no law against having a
small amount of marijuana because the federal government has publicly
stated the law could be changed.

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has said he would like to see the
possession of marijuana in amounts under 30 grams "decriminalized," which
would see a person get a ticket and pay a fine, rather than having to go to
court.

The federal government has appealed the Windsor ruling and Lundin said his
instructions are to seek adjournments for anyone charged with possession
until after the appeal is heard.

Those adjournments, of course, raise a question of an accused's Charter
right to have a trial in a reasonable period of time.

"At this point, we locally haven't had any difficulty with it. There
haven't been any defence lawyers insisting on trial dates for those
matters. I believe the reason is everybody accepts that there is no point
in creating more confusion by having conflicting decisions on the issue,"
explained Lundin.

"It's better to just wait for the appeal."

If a lawyer did push the issue, Lundin said he would simply stay the
charge. That would stop the proceedings, but give the Crown a 12-month
window to bring the charges back.

He estimated the adjournments affect "a couple of dozen" accused between
Kenora and Red Lake.

Kenora Police Service Chief George Curtis said despite the confusion in the
courts over the marijuana laws, it's business as usual for his officers.

"The law is the law. Our officers are instructed to carry on as normal and
if the courts so choose to drop those types of charges, then that's their
prerogative," said the chief.

He said that policy won't change until the law does.

"I don't think that it's appropriate that frontline police officers start
interpreting the law on the street."

Curtis would not get pinned down on whether he favours decriminalizing the
possession of small amounts of pot.

However, his comments indicate he does see some advantages and he suggested
there is a movement among some in the policing field to go in that direction.

"In terms of freeing up the time of our officers, yes, in a way I do
support (decriminalization). The other side of the coin is I don't think
you just walk away from the problem," he said.

In particular, he questioned if the minor fines for possession warrant the
time officers spend preparing paperwork for court.

"It's really not that much of a deterrent (And) I sure don't see our
statistics decreasing. If anything, our drug problem is getting worse in
this area."

Lundin said he has been given no indication as to when the government will
make a decision on changing the possession law.

"I think they are going to wait for (the appeal)," he said, adding, "It's
the reality of the situation that the court process is being used to decide
the legitimacy of the legislation, I'm content to wait and let the court
make the decision."