Ottawa stays PEI pot charges

By: Canadian Press, Globe and Mail, 03/25/03

Charlottetown - The federal Justice Department says it will stay all charges of marijuana possession on Prince Edward Island involving less than 30 grams until the law is clarified.

Recently, a judge in Summerside, PEI, stayed a marijuana charge on grounds that rulings in Ontario have raised doubts about federal marijuana laws.

The Crown is appealing that ruling on the Island, but a date has not been set.

In the meantime, prosecutors have begun staying other charges. One case occurred in Charlottetown on Monday. Three others were stayed last week in Summerside.

Justice officials insist that doesn't mean the charges are being dropped. Staying a charge still allows them to reactivate it within a year, depending on what happens with the appeal.