Marijuana remains illegal in Canada

By Tara Brautigam
The Associated Press

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In a 6-3 decision, the justices ruled that possession of marijuana would remain a criminal offense for now. In a separate, unanimous decision, it maintained trafficking of the drug was illegal.

The ruling does not preclude Martin from going ahead with a proposed bill that would soften penalties. President Bush has expressed concerns over the bill, fearing it could encourage drug smuggling along the U.S. border.

The court ruling prompted praise from law-enforcement groups but disappointment from supporters of marijuana legalization. "I have a lot of faith in my country, in freedom and justice, but it doesn't seem like we have a whole lot of that left," said Dominic Kramer, a marijuana activist who runs a store that sells hemp products and paraphernalia in Toronto.

Tony Cannavino, president of the Canadian Police Association, welcomed the court decision but expressed concern over Martin's intent to pursue the controversial bill. He said marijuana growing seemed to be on the rise. "We have more and more 'grow ops' across the country," he said in Ottawa. "You wouldn't see that 10 years ago."

A key question in the Supreme Court decision was whether Parliament has the constitutional right to punish marijuana possession, given the lack of proven serious harms from its use.

The high court examined three cases involving two pot activists and one man who was caught smoking. All three failed to convince lower courts that the pot law is unconstitutional.

Last week, Martin said he planned to reintroduce a bill, proposed during Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's tenure, that would wipe out potential jail time and criminal records for those convicted of marijuana possession.

The bill did not legalize the drug and maintained or increased already stiff penalties for large-scale growers and traffickers. It made possession of less than 15 grams of pot a minor offense punishable by fines of $100 to $400, much like traffic tickets. Critics said 15 grams, the equivalent of roughly 15 to 20 joints, was too much to equate with casual use.

The legislation died when Parliament adjourned last month.

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