FEDS FORCED TO CLEAR POT AIR

OTTAWA -- The Justice Department will "probably" appeal yesterday's Ontario
court decision that ruled there are no laws forbidding the possession of
small amounts of marijuana.

Jim Leising, the Justice Department's director of prosecution in Ontario,
said federal lawyers will move quickly to clarify the laws surrounding
possession of pot for recreational use and decide whether to appeal the
ruling to the Ontario Superior Court.

"It probably will be appealed," Leising said.

"Certainly there is a need to ensure the law is clear."

Leising downplayed the importance of the ruling, pointing out that it isn't
binding on any judge because it came from a lower Ontario court.

"It's not much of a precedent," he said.

Ruling Downplayed

Justice Douglas Phillips threw out charges against a 16-year-old Windsor
teen yesterday, siding with defence lawyer Brian McAllister, who argued
there's no laws in Canada prohibiting the possession of 30 grams of pot or
less.

McAllister also submitted that Ottawa failed to deal with a two-year-old
ruling from the Ontario Court of Appeal which backed Terry Parker's right
to smoke pot for medicinal purposes.

Ottawa's response to the Parker ruling was the Marijuana Medical Access
Regulations, which are supposed to allow registered Canadians to smoke and
possess marijuana for medical reasons under certain circumstances.

Last month, a Commons committee recommended Canada bring in legislation
that would mean possession of 30 grams of pot would result in nothing more
than a ticket and no criminal record.

In an earlier report, a Senate committee went further and called on Ottawa
to legalize pot altogether.

New Laws Promised

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon responded by promising new pot laws by March.

Leising said the Justice Department maintains it adequately responded to
the Parker case and rejects McAllister's arguments to the contrary.