[420 Girl]

Tousaw and Ryan Poelzer, an East Vancouver man charged with possession of marijuana on the Coast in late May, are pursuing a constitutional defence based on the non-viability of Health Canada's 2003 Marijuana Medical Access Regulation ( MMAR ).

"The courts have found, as recently as Jan. 2008, the MMAR is not constitutionally adequate," said Tousaw. "It's clear that the government can only prohibit possession of marijuana if it has a constitutionally adequate medical program."

Tousaw, a board member of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, cites Ontario cases in 2000 and 2007 that he said have weakened the constitutionality of the MMAR. He said two cases from the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2003 resulted in about 4,000 federal drug possession charges being dropped and led to the underground government-licensed marijuana grow operation conducted in Flin Flon, Man.

A Jan. 10, 2008 decision in the Federal Court adds credence to Poelzer's challenge, he said. The ruling by Judge Barry Strayer means growers of medical marijuana are no longer limited to growing pot for just one patient at a time.

"The federal court said to the federal government that this restriction is irrational," said Tousaw.

Poelzer, 21, is a reverend of the Church of the Universe, under the clergy of the Third Eye Mission of God. He said his church, originally from Ontario, uses cannabis as a sacrament. He was arrested as he disembarked from the ferry in Langdale, he said, as he was on his way to perform a ceremony for a group attending the Attack of Danger Bay longboard race in Pender Harbour.

"This quite often happens to reverends," Poelzer commented.

After representing himself and entering a not guilty plea to the charge in Sechelt in June, Poelzer was approached by Tousaw and retained him as his lawyer.

The Crown response to Tousaw's facta ( his written argument for the constitutional challenge ) is due by Feb. 15, and the decision on the constitutional challenge is expected by the spring. There won't be any oral arguments in the case unless Poelzer needs to appeal a decision in person, said Tousaw.


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