Pubdate: Wed, 17 Apr 2013
Source: Kamloops Daily News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 Kamloops Daily News
Contact:  http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/679
Author: Cam Fortems

COMPASSION CLUB TRIAL DELAYED

Two men involved in a Kamloops compassion club shut down by RCMP in
2011 will mount a constitutional challenge to charges of possession
for the purpose of trafficking.

Lawyers met Tuesday afternoon with Provincial Court Judge Stella Frame
for a pre-trial conference.

Carl Anderson and Wesley Jenkins are both charged with possession of
marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. They were scheduled to face
trial in July, but Anderson requires surgery that cannot be delayed.

The trial date was adjourned and will be held later this
year.

Anderson was the operator of a compassion club on Tranquille Road that
supplied medical marijuana, while Jenkins was a volunteer. RCMP raided
and shut down the premises in November 2011.

Five days have been set aside for a trial. Following the trial, and
depending on whether there is a conviction, a 10-day hearing is
scheduled to hear a constitutional challenge.

Defence lawyers Richard Kaiser and Shawn Buckley, who represents
Anderson, will challenge the constitutionality of the trafficking
section of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Kaiser said Anderson had a meticulous operation intended to keep
marijuana free of mould or additives. Marijuana was also labelled
according to its properties.

"They would only sell to people with a licence or people who filled
out paperwork - Health Canada took as long as a year to distribute
licences." 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D