In a potentially precedent-setting case, a Vancouver judge ruled last month that SM videos seized by police two years ago are not obscene–and that SM itself is a “normal and acceptable” form of human sexuality.

SM players and queer anti-censorship activists are hailing the decision as a groundbreaking victory. […]

The case dates back to 2002, when the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) raided Sweet Entertainment, a local manufacturer of SM porn videos for the Internet. In March 2002, and again in November 2002, police raided the company’s Downtown Eastside studio and seized 11 videos and several computers. The Crown later charged the company’s president, Randy Price, with 20 counts of making, possessing and distributing 11 obscene videos.

Last month, provincial court Judge Raymond Low acquitted Price on all 20 charges.

The full story is here.