« REGINA v. LEON SMITH AND COLBY BUDDA: REASONS FOR JUDGEMENT OF THE HONOURABLE JUDGE L. F. CHAPERON. | Main | Vancouver Out Of Line On Pot, BC Solicitor General Warns. »
Compassion Club Operator Sees Pot Charges Stayed By Judge.
By admin | September 9, 2004
By Jeff Bell,
Times Colonist staff.
Longtime marijuana activist Ted Smith and co-accused Colby Budda have had drug charges against them stayed in a ruling by provincial court Judge Loretta Chaperon.
Both men were charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, stemming from a January 2002 raid on Smith’s storefront Johnson Street business, known as Ted’s Bookstore. Smith has consistently maintained the store is run as a “compassion club,’ meaning it distributes marijuana to people with chronic illness who find relief from using the drug. Staying a charge still allows it to be reactivated within a year, but they rarely are.
In her written reasons for judgement, Chaperon cited an earlier case which, like Smith’s and Budda’s, rested on the contention that marijuana was being used for a compassion club.
“In this case, I am satisfied that Smith and Budda operated a compassion club to provide persons with a medical need, with a safe, reliable supply of marijuana,” she wrote. She said her order to stay the proceedings was the same step taken by the judge in the previous case.
She said Smith’s operation “was clearly a compassion club” with some restrictions in place for supplying people with marijuana.
“Although the scrutiny of potential members was not as strigent as the government might have wished, they were doing the job the government was not doing, namely providing a reliable supply of marijuana to those that need it.”
The federal government, she explained, had set up a scheme for people with various conditions to be able to possess marijuana for their use, but did not set up a reliable means for marijuana to be obtained. The government was effectively relying on operations like compassion clubs while continuing to criminalize the clubs’ activities, she said.
“In so doing, it was engendering a disrespect for the law an administration of justice because of the fundamental unfairness of such a postion.”
Without the stay, both Smith and Budda would have been convicted of the trafficking charge, she said.
Following the decision, Smith said he was elated with the outcome of the trial. “It was a great day,” he said, adding that he was not surprised at the ruling” because the trial this summer has been quite long and in-depth.”
Smith noted that Chaperon raised questions about the constitutionality of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in relation to the medical use of marijuana.
Meanwhile, Smith was scheduled back in court today, dealing with an unrelated case. It follows from his Nov. 8, 2000, arrest at the University of Victoria for sharing marijuana cigarettes during a session of a marijuana advocacy group known as Hempology 101. “I lit up seven joints and passed them around a circle,” he said.
Topics: Articles | Comments Off
Comments are closed.