Canadian judge Pierre Chevalier has issued a very symbolic ruling in a marijuana possession case. Mario Larouche, 46, was facing possession charges for having 30 marijuana plants at home. In line with the recently elected Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his party’s promises to legalize marijuana, the Quebec judge said this:
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We are in a society where people are accused of possession and use of marijuana while more than half the population has already consumed. These are laws that are obsolete and ridiculous. When one is in the presence of laws which would have more than half of the population has a criminal record in Canada… And probably most Crown Attorneys and defense, and perhaps judges, but I will not comment on it.
Then Judge Chevalier fined Mr. Larouche $1.30 Canadian. Lest you think this man is getting off easy for being a pothead:
46 year old Mario Larouche had tried numerous times to get a prescription for medical marijuana, unsuccessfully. So few doctors are willing to prescribe marijuana for pain relief, despite the mountains of evidence proving its effectiveness without the disastrous side effects of prescription painkillers. This forced Mr. Larouche to break the law in order to treat his pain.
Chevalier protested Canada’s system, “Monsieur is in a broken system where it does not give people access to a natural medicine that goes back centuries, millennia.”
A victory for common sense in Canada.