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Another pot case up in smoke
By Hempology | March 31, 2003
From CBC News, March 31st, 2003
DARTMOUTH, N.S. – A judge in Dartmouth, N.S., has thrown out a charge against a woman for possessing marijuana because there is no federal law in place covering the alleged crime.
Provincial Court Judge Flora Buchan on Monday stayed charges against Paula Clarke, who had been accused of possessing a small amount of pot.
Buchan ruled there is no valid law in place that Clarke could have violated.
The judge’s decision follows similar rulings in Prince Edward Island and Ontario.
In all the cases, the trial judges cited a ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2000.
That decision declared the drug law violated the rights of a man who needed pot for medical reasons.
The court gave Parliament one year to revamp the law, but so far there have been no legislative changes. The federal government has talked about decriminalzing possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Buchan said Nova Scotia citizens should be treated in the same way as those in Ontario and the Island, where convictions for simple possession are unlikely.
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