Pubdate: Sun, 18 Mar 2001
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2001, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  #250, 4990-92 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, T6B 3A1 Canada
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Author: Philip Lee-Shanok

WEED LETTER VALUELESS

Crusader Arrested Again

TORONTO -- A letter allowing a man suffering from AIDS to grow and 
smoke pot for medicinal reasons isn't worth the paper it's printed 
on, says his lawyer.

Jim Wakeford, 56, who has had AIDS for eight years, was granted an 
exemption in 1999 to cultivate, possess and smoke marijuana to 
counteract severe nausea and spasms caused by his medication.

Although Wakeford is one of 170 Canadians who have letters of 
exemption under Section 56 of the Controlled Substances Act, police 
have arrested and charged him twice in the past two weeks.

"The exemption is an illusion. It makes you wonder if it's worth the 
paper it's printed on," said Wakeford's lawyer, Prof. Alan Young, who 
teaches law at York University.

Wakeford was charged March 2 with possession of marijuana for the 
purpose of trafficking. Four York Region police officers removed 
150-200 marijuana plants from a farm in the village of Udora, near 
Uxbridge. On March 13, Ontario Provincial Police stopped Wakeford on 
his way to Toronto and allegedly found him in possession of a pound 
of marijuana. Young said police should have used their discretion and 
turned a blind eye.

"This isn't what the narcotics laws are about. Whatever (purpose) 
they are meant to serve, they are clearly not (intended) for the 
harassment of sick people," Young said.

Coincidently, the day Wakeford was charged by York cops he had just 
gone before the Ontario Court of Appeal to ask that caregivers also 
be granted immunity from prosecution.

"This is exactly why we went to court. The exemptions are not 
adequate protection," Young said. "Maybe they're retaliating because 
he is outspoken. Whatever the reasons may be, it was a poor exercise 
of police discretion to charge this sick man."

Wakeford's letter only entitles him to be in possession of 30 grams 
of pot for his own use. But without a safe legal source for medicinal 
marijuana, Wakeford has had to grow it himself in larger quantities.

"There are so many flaws and shortcomings - it's going to take more 
than this," Young said.
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