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Another Court Victory; Trials Begin March 30

By Ted | February 23, 2004


By Ted Smith

President,
International Hempology 101 Society

Victoria, B.C.: The most complex set of cannabis trafficking cases in Canadian history will begin in Victoria on
March 30. Leon “Ted” Smith faces 6 trafficking-related charges stemming from 4 different arrests, starting Nov. 8,
2000 when he was arrested after sharing a few joints at the weekly 4:20 meeting of the University Of Victoria
Students’ Society Hempology 101 Club. Since the beginning he has argued that charging someone for sharing a
joint is irrational and leads to an arbitrary application of the law and general mistrust of authority.

On Tuesday Feb. 17 both the Crown Prosecutor and defence asked Administrative Judge Smith to reconsider the manner
by which the courts would deal with the constitutional arguments against the laws prohibiting cannabis use which were
presented by Robert Moore-Stewart over 3 years ago. The Crown did not want Judge Hubbard to review the cases last Thursday
and requested the extra delay because it appeared unlikely that any judge would change the process erected by
Administrative Judge Smith.

After Ted was arrested sharing joints at the University of Victoria on Nov. 8, 2000 and just before a pot cookie giveaway
on Nov. 15, 2000, his lawyer entered a not guilty plea with the inclusion of several constitutional arguments against the
prohibition laws. After accepting the plea, Administrative Judge Smith forced the proceedings into his private chambers
where he told Robert Moore-Stewart that a Constitutional Question Notice would be held first and separate from the
criminal trials. This unfair process violates Section 11 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms because it is
more difficult to prove the police and state have acted irrationally, applying the law arbitrarily and punishing select
individuals in a manner which is grossly disproportionate considering current social norms, without the evidence of
police behaviour from the criminal trials being introduced into court. Now, after years of delays with the Constitutional
Question Hearing, the Crown wants to proceed with the criminal trials, primarily because, in a 6-3 decision, the
Supreme Court of Canada recently upheld the prohibition of cannabis with considering whether the harm principle,
which is dealt with in Section 7 of the Charter, is violated by the law. While the harm principle argument alone failed,
the Supreme Court acknowledged that constitutional issues around whether the law is rational, arbitrary or grossly
disproportionate have not yet been explored.

Faced with Crown and defence requests to collapse the Constitutional Question Hearing into the first trial, Administrative
Judge Smith was forced to change the direction of the proceedings and allow the constitutional issues at the end of the
trial regarding the arrest at the University of Victoria. Ted was charged for sharing a few joints at a weekly 4:20 meeting of the
University of Victoria Students Society Hempology 101 Club and because he was arrested long after the meeting, the
tactics police used question how equally the cannabis laws are applied in Canada. While there is no doubt that Ted broke
the law on this occasion, lawyer Robert Moore-Stewart, expert witness Dr. James Geiwitz and sociology professor James Hackler
will show the courts that the state has violated Sections 1, 2, 7, 9, 11 and 15 in the creation and application of the law in this
particular case.

To complicate matters more, Ted was also arrested on Nov. 15, 200 before the annual pot cookie giveaway on
International Medical Marijuana Day, and again at raids at the headquarters of the Cannabis Buyers’ Clubs of Canada
on Jan. 3 and March 21, 2002.

The first trial will occur on Tuesday March 30 at 10am in Courtroom #201 at the Victoria Courthouse. The second trial on May 26th
will actually be for the Jan. 3, 2002 police raid at the Cannabis Buyers Clubs of Canada, with Colby Budda also facing charges
from that incident. The third trial on June 16 will be for the cookie giveaway. The final trial will be on June 28th and 30th and will
deal with the second police raid at the Cannabis Buyers Clubs of Canada.

The Cannabis Buyers Clubs of Canada was founded by Ted over 8 years ago to help people with a doctor’s diagnosis of a
permanent physical medical problem. The club has now survived over 5 police raids at its storefront location in Victoria
where it has operated for the past three years. Now with over 1,200 members, the club is stronger than ever.

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