Pubdate: Tue, 05 Mar 2013
Source: Comox Valley Echo (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 Comox Valley Echo
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouverisland/comoxvalleyecho/index.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/785
Author: Lise Broadley

YACUB PLEADS GUILTY TO ONE COUNT IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA CASE

Ernie Yacub, head of medical marijuana supplier the North Island 
Compassion Club, has pleaded guilty to one count of possession for 
the purpose of trafficking in exchange for having a second identical 
charge stayed.

He will appear in court again March 14 to set a date for sentencing.

Yacub had intended to challenge the validity of laws governing the 
distribution of medical marijuana but on Monday he entered a guilty 
plea instead. He said a number of factors lead to the decision, 
including the prohibitive costs of moving forward with the Charter 
challenge, the likelihood that a decision in his favour could be 
overturned on appeal and the fact that a win in court may not 
translate to much conceivable change for people trying to access 
medical marijuana.

The system that governs access to cannabis for medical purposes is 
set to change in 2014. While currently those approved to use 
marijuana can either purchase it through Health Canada, grow it 
themselves or have an approved third party grow it for them, in 2014, 
medical users will no longer be allowed to grow their own and will 
only be allowed to purchase it from licensed producers.

Compassion Clubs sell marijuana to people in medical need. They are 
not recognized by the government, but Yacub argues that they fill a 
vital gap in government programs. In addition to selling dried 
marijuana for smoking, Compassion Clubs also sell edible items and 
topical products.

Yacub said the benefit of Compassion Clubs is their ability to 
provide high-quality and diverse products at reasonable prices in a 
safe environment.

The club was raided by RCMP two times in 2011, leading to the charges 
against Yacub. William Myers was also charged with one count of 
possession for the purpose of trafficking, but Yacub said it appears 
likely that charge will be stayed.

Monday was supposed to be the first day of a three day Charter 
challenge in which Yacub and his lawyer Kirk Tousaw would argue that 
the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act as it applies to cannabis 
used for medical or therapeutic purposes is in conflict with the 
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"Section Seven of the Charter which guarantees life, liberty and 
security of the person is violated when you criminalize sick people 
and their caregivers like Mr. Yacub for providing them that which the 
government has not done to date - a safe and effective source of 
cannabis and cannabis-based medicines," said Tousaw during a press 
conference late last month

Yacub said that he still intends to argue that the Compassion Club 
provides an essential service where the government has failed and he 
said he will ask the courts for an absolute discharge. He estimates 
that the North Island branch of the Compassion Club has provided 
between 400 and 500 people with medical marijuana since opening its 
doors 11 years ago.

"It's a crazy story and we're just trying to help people," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom