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ACQUITTAL EXPECTED FOR SEPT 7, 2004.
By admin | September 6, 2004
by Ted Smith
for the Cannabis Digest.
There are several reasons why we expected Justice Chaperon to stay the charges against myself, and Colby Budda, when she reads her decision on Sept 7 regarding the police seizure from the Johnson St. storefront on Jan 3, 2002.
First, the medical need of cannabis for people had been established with many other court cases.
The CBC�s mandate fits perfectly with the Medical Marijuana Access Regulations (MMAR), except they require a doctor�s recommendation.
Second, at the time of the raid no legal supply of cannabis was available to people with legal licenses to possess and grow the herb. Medical cannabis clubs provided the only available alternative to people faced with pain every day.
Third, there is direct evidence that the club restricted membership to sick people only and that the club�s motivation was not profit. Someone who had been cut-off from the CLUB, because he had been caught purchasing for someone else, brought the officer whom began the investigation to the club. This proved to the judge that we do not sell to just anyone, because everyone would come directly into the store to purchase, and that sales were secondary to the club�s mandate. Normal drug dealers do not stop selling to people who buy too much.
While the crown has challenged the fact that the CBC does not require a recommendation from a doctor for a person to join, and that because I am for the most part a healthy person, the medical need for cannabis is not a constitutional issue available to me. The crown admitted several times that if a doctor�s recommendation was required to join the club, then prosecution would probably not be occurring. The judge, however, has stated that while the mandate of the CBC is not as strict as Health Canada or the crown would like, it is acceptable to the courts, especially considering the evidence that the club cuts off members who resell.
This decision is anticipated by many members of the cannabis community, including, ironically, Phil Lucas from the VICS. Mr. Lucas has consistently put me down for not requiring doctor�s recommendations and generally for so openly challenging the laws against cannabis. If the crown wins, Mr. Lucas will proclaim that he was right all along and we were never a legitimate medical club. If we win the case, Mr. Lucas will enjoy the ground-breaking decision we have earned and try to pretend that he supported us all along.
All of the police raids at the club occurred during the time period when Health Canada handed out licenses but absolutely no Flin Flon pot was available. It is expected that all charges related to these raids will be thrown out after this decision is read on Sept 7.
Topics: Articles, CD-3rd, Summer 2004 | Comments Off
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