Pubdate: Fri, 06 Dec 2002
Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2002, Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://www.fyiottawa.com/ottsun.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329
Author: Tobi Cohen, Ottawa Sun
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

COPS NO DOPES, GIVE MAN'S POT BACK

Ontario  Provincial  Police  made  a  special  delivery  of  about 30 
marijuana plants  to  pot activist Rob Brown yesterday -- 2 1/2 months 
after it was stolen from his property.

The  Killaloe-area  cancer  sufferer says police did a good job taking care 
of his pot plants, but he's still upset it took so long to get them back.

Brown, who sufferers from cancer and hepatitis C and has a medical 
exemption that allows  him to harvest and possess the controlled substance, 
has been fighting to have his "medicine" returned to him since police 
recovered it Sept. 20.

Police were issued with a court order on Wednesday to return the plants but 
since Brown  doesn't have a legal right to carry such a large quantity, he 
had to wait until yesterday when police could drop it off.

Worried that the plants would no longer have any beneficial properties, 
Brown had considered filing a lawsuit but was pleasantly surprised to find 
his stash in fairly good shape.

Brown remains very upset with how his case was handled.

"I think it's absolutely insane that this situation has been carried to 
this extent," he said. "If somebody had broken into an old-age home and had 
stolen medicine, it would have been returned a long time ago without the 
expense of having to go through proceedings in court and hiring a lawyer."

Staff Sgt. Jim Graham, however, said the circumstances were a little 
different in this case.

"A stereo and a TV, anybody can lawfully possess those items. When it comes 
to marijuana  plants, not everybody can lawfully possess those items," he said.

"A court decision had to be made whether he was lawfully allowed to have 
that returned to him or not."
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MAP posted-by: Jackl