ONTARIO RULING STIRS POT DEBATE

Teen Had Small Amount, Judge Throws Out Charge

WINDSOR, Ont. -- An Ontario Court judge has thrown out a marijuana charge
against a 16-year-old boy in a ruling lawyers heralded yesterday as another
sign that Canada's pot laws are relaxing.

Justice Douglas Phillips dropped the charge after lawyer Brian McAllister
argued in court that there is effectively no law prohibiting the possession
of 30 grams or less of marijuana.

Even though the ruling signals for some the beginning of the end for
Canada's prohibition against possessing small amounts of the drug, those
who do could still be charged, McAllister said.

"My interpretation of the law -- and (it's) been accepted by the judge --
is there's no law in Ontario prohibiting possession of marijuana," he said
in an interview.

"But the danger is the police aren't likely to accept that argument and
another judge may not accept that argument."

The ruling "affects at this time only this young person," he continued.
"(But) from what I understand, there's a number of other judges that have
been awaiting this decision and have been holding off hearing other cases
that involve the same issue, so it's potentially persuasive on those
courts." Jim Leising, a spokesman for the federal Justice Department, said
the ruling will be studied carefully and a decision on whether to appeal or
take some other action will likely be made within 10 days.

Warning issued

Because the ruling involves a minor, it's especially important to "address
the judgment fairly quickly," said Leising, director of the department's
federal prosecution services in Ontario.

In the meantime, Leising warned that the ruling doesn't give Canadians the
freedom to use marijuana without facing possible charges. Currently,
conviction of possessing 30 grams or less of pot can carry a fine or up to
six months in jail.

Yesterday's ruling involving the 16-year-old -- who can't be named because
of his age -- "is unique," Leising admitted.

But the law making possession of marijuana illegal "is still valid and
enforceable and someone would be (using marijuana) at their own peril." In
defending the 16-year-old, who was on probation when he was arrested last
April for possessing marijuana, McAllister sought to have the charge
dropped on the grounds that Ottawa has not yet adequately dealt with a
ruling two years ago from the Ontario Court of Appeal.

In that landmark decision, the appeals court sided with marijuana user
Terry Parker, who argued that the law violated the rights of sick people
using the drug for medical reasons. Parker, an epileptic, said he needs
marijuana to control his seizures.

The federal government's response to the Parker ruling was its now-infamous
Marijuana Medical Access Regulations, which are supposed to allow marijuana
use for medical reasons under certain circumstances.

Those regulations have been widely criticized for being cumbersome, unfair
and loaded down with bureaucratic red tape.