Pubdate: Mon, 24 Apr 2006
Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON)
Copyright: 2006 The Hamilton Spectator
Contact:  http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/181
Author: Dana Borcea
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal -  
Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

POT CASE BASED ON MEDICAL NEED

The lawyer for one of several people arrested during Friday's police  
raid on the Up in Smoke Cafe is considering a constitutional  
challenge of his client's marijuana charges.

Peter Boushy said his client, who suffers epileptic seizures as well  
as a thyroid gland disorder, uses marijuana for medicinal purposes.

He hopes to build a case around his right to the relief that  
marijuana can provide.

"An argument could be made that people like (my client), who use  
marijuana from medical needs, should be exempt from criminal  
prosecution," the Hamilton criminal lawyer said yesterday.

The 21-year-old Hamilton man was one of 10 people charged with  
marijuana offences.

About 12 officers burst into the King Street East cafe around 5 p.m.  
and executed a search warrant.

Two staffers and a Niagara man were arrested for possession and  
trafficking and taken into custody.

Six people were charged with possession and released, while another  
woman was charged with breach of probation for being on the premises.

The raid came a day after around 400 people gathered outside  
Hamilton's City Hall for the Free Pot Smoke Out. Police watched as  
organizers of Thursday's rally distributed about 600 joints, as well  
as lighting up a "15-gram cannon" or $100 joint.

No arrests were made. Sergeant Mike Webber said police did not want  
to ignite a confrontation at the protest and were working on  
identifying some suspects.

Contacted on the weekend, vice and drug branch detective Bob Gauvin,  
who was at the raid, could not confirm whether the charges or warrant  
were linked to the protest.

He described people at the cafe as "very co-operative and polite."

Matt Mernach, one of the three people taken into custody, said, "It  
was one of the most intense things I have ever gone through."

The Up in Smoke Cafe opened its doors in August 2004.
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