Pubdate: Wed, 18 Jan 2012
Source: Chronicle Herald (CN NS)
Copyright: 2012 The Halifax Herald Limited
Contact:  http://thechronicleherald.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/180
Author: Brian Medel

MARIJUANA USER GETS ABSOLUTE DISCHARGE

Court Told Bone Cancer Victim, Charged With Possession After Police 
Found 108 Grams, Now Has Licence to Use Drug to Relieve the Pain of Her Disease

YARMOUTH - A woman who drinks marijuana-laced tea to fight severe 
cancer pain was granted an absolute discharge Tuesday by a judge 
after cops raided her Yarmouth home last year, looking for dope.

"I'm terribly pleased," said Heather Lent as she left Yarmouth 
provincial court, walking with a cane and taking short, measured 
steps. "I had my anxieties along the way."

Lent was charged with possession of marijuana after police discovered 
108 grams of marijuana in her fridge and in her bedroom on April 9.

Lent, 52, suffers from bone cancer and finds it painful to move. She 
has no criminal record.

She said someone who visited her home snitched on her.

"Within a couple of days the cops came and they kicked our doors in. 
They must have thought there was something going on there."

The RCMP showed up at her Cliff Street apartment with a search 
warrant. "I told them where it was when they came in. I said it's in 
the bedroom. It's in my fridge."

The search netted some marijuana, two scales and some related items.

Then she showed police some of her X-rays.

Lent said her health is not good. "I started with a tumour on my knee 
and then it moved up."

She has already had a knee and hip replacement. "I'm in a whole lot of pain."

Lent said she drinks the marijuana in a tea and it works better than 
any prescription painkiller she's ever tried.

She said her doctor urged her several years ago to begin using 
marijuana for pain.

"At this time the accused had no medical marijuana licence from 
Health Canada but I understand she now does," Crown attorney Hugh 
Robichaud told the court.

The prosecution proposed a conditional discharge involving probation 
to reflect a general deterrent.

Although Lent did not possess a valid marijuana licence at the time 
of the police raid, Judge Robert Prince wanted to know if she would 
have been eligible to have one. Defence lawyer Phil Star said yes.

He said his client, who relies on social assistance for her monthly 
income, has bone cancer and has undergone eight surgeries.

A medical marijuana certificate allows the licence holder to possess 
up to 90 grams of the pain-relieving drug, said the Crown attorney.

The judge said Lent had slightly more than she would have been 
allowed with a licence.

"There was some mention of the issue of deterrence. . . . In my view 
the issue of deterrence in this particular circumstance is not . . . paramount.

"Considering all of the circumstances . . . I'm satisfied that an 
absolute discharge is appropriate," said Prince.

It was difficult to get a medical marijuana licence, Lent said 
outside the courtroom.

"They sent me back everything, like three times. I think that they go 
through a little red tape hoping some people will forget it," she 
said of the federal agency responsible for distributing the licences.

Lent finally received her licence in November after repeated 
attempts. She can purchase pot from a registered grower or buy it 
online in 90-gram packs.

"Other people who have licences are growing. That's how I do it," she 
said about obtaining her supplies.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom