Canada: Clerics Lose Bid To Legalize Pot



Source: Toronto Star (Canada) 



Pubdate: Tuesday, January 12, 1999 



Author: Tonda MacCharles, Toronto Star Ottawa Bureau 	



ubject: CLERICS LOSE BID TO LEGALIZE POT	



Court official extends deadline for pair to challenge drug laws 	



OTTAWA - The Federal Court says two dope-smoking clerics should take another shot at 

challenging Canada's drug laws. 	



Walter A. Tucker and Michael J. Baldasaro, of the Church of the Universe, intend to do just that.	



They also lost a bid to overturn voting restrictions on minors and the new gun-control law, but 

their somewhat clumsy court challenges didn't completely fail.	



``This is a case where the plaintiffs' religious rights are alleged to be threatened,'' ruled Peter Giles, 

the court's associate senior prothonotary. He noted the two allegedly use cannabis ``in their daily 

lives on the advice of God.''	



``The constitutionality of legislation controlling cannabis in the face of religious requirement is a 

possibly serious issue,'' Giles said and gave them until Jan. 10 to refile their suit against the 

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.	



That deadline's already passed, but the two ministers say they'll ask for an extension and pursue 

their cause: to decriminalize marijuana. 	



Baldasaro, 49, who had announced his candidacy for the federal Tory leadership but failed to meet 

all the filing requirements, dismissed the court official's criticism of their poorly drafted claim. 	



``That doesn't mean anything, sister,'' he said in a telephone interview from Hamilton. ``If we have 

a right to worship in this fashion, how technical do they expect you and me to be?'' 	



He said Canada's drug laws that prohibit possession of marijuana violate church members' 

freedom of religion because smoking pot is part of how they worship God. ``It's our sacrament.	



``We're looking for simple justice and a simple declaration that the Controlled Drugs and 

Substances Act . . . when they're applying it against our freedom of religion, is a violation of the 

Charter (of Rights and Freedoms).''	



Tucker, who got on another telephone extension to join the interview, said smoking a joint for him 

is no different than a Catholic drinking wine during communion.	



Baldasaro and Tucker estimate the Church of the Universe, which they describe as all-

denominational, has about 30,000 members in Canada. --