This is as high as it gets for David Malmo-Levine.

The 31-year-old Vancouver marijuana activist fortified himself with "a couple of hits" of hash from a water pipe and a marijuana joint, dressed head-to-toe in hemp clothing, and urged the Supreme Court of Canada yesterday to strike down the country's pot law.

"The new test should be you don't go to jail unless your activities are inherently harmful to others," Malmo-Levine told the country's top court.

The Supreme Court heard three challenges to the constitutionality of the country's 80-year-old marijuana possession and trafficking law - the first time the court has undertaken such a review of the law.

The nine justices listened impassively for 40 minutes as Malmo-Levine, acting as his own lawyer, argued his case in a courtroom filled with silk-robed lawyers, law students, and pot users, many dressed in hemp T-shirts and wreathed in the faint odour of pot.

It's far from clear what the Supreme Court will now do in its review of a marijuana law that the federal government admits it is on the verge of liberalizing.

A bill to reduce possession of small amounts of pot for personal use to a ticketing offence is to be tabled in June. The federal government says it would still be a criminal offence to possess large amounts of pot, or to traffic in the drug.

The high court reserved its decision yesterday after a full day of arguments, and a ruling is not expected for several months.

Full Article:
Toronto Star