Pubdate: Thu, 04 Aug 2005 Source: Daily Observer, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2005, Osprey Media Group Inc. Contact: http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2615 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Rick+Reimer (Reimer, Rick) QUALITY OF LIFE When the talk gets around to Rick Reimer, many people give a knowing smirk and shake their head as if the lawyer is a "lost cause." Well, Mr. Reimer has a cause he is fighting for and it's well worth the battle. He is fighting for his life, or rather the quality of life he can lead while afflicted with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative and debilitating disease. One of the most effective ways he can combat this disease is through the medicinal use of marijuana, for which he has a medical exemption. Of course, espousing the cause of marijuana use, no matter how limited or for what purpose, is not received well in all quarters. That is why Mr. Reimer has to contend with those smirks and looks while he fights for a cause he fervently believes in. In fact, his life depends on it. Last weekend, he was arrested at the Atlantic Hemp Fest for being intoxicated in a public place. The officers who put him in jail didn't want to let him get his medical exemption form, and let him suffer in jail for a few hours until he was released and formally charged. If his story is true -- and we have no good reason to doubt him -- Mr. Reimer was subjected to an excessively forceful, and unfair, abuse of the justice system. He intends to fight the charge, of course, and will represent himself in court when the time comes. If we have a law that allows the limited use of marijuana, and especially with a medical exemption, it is the responsibility of those enforcing the law to know it -- even if they find it personally offensive. - --- MAP posted-by: Jackl