CANADA POT PROHIBITION CRUMBLES

The laws prohibiting marijuana possession in Canada continue to crumble.

Last week, an Ontario judge declared unconstitutional Ottawa's scheme to
allow the use of pot for medical reasons, according to a Canadian Press report.

It's not fair to allow people to smoke medicinal marijuana then force them
to get the drug from the corner drug dealer, which is what the scheme
effectively does, said Superior Court Justice Sidney Lederman. "Laws which
put seriously ill, vulnerable people in a position where they have to deal
with the criminal underworld to obtain medicine they have been authorized
to take violate the constitutional right to security of the person,"
Lederman wrote in a 40-page ruling. "I have grave reservations about a
regime which grants legal access by relying on drug dealers to supply and
distribute the required medicine."

Lederman gave the federal government six months to fix the regulations,
after which time they will be "of no force and effect." In related news,
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien has reportedly overcome past
hesitancy and is now ready to move quickly to decriminalize possession of
marijuana.

Ron du Bois, Stillwater