Pubdate: Thu, 12 Nov 2015
Source: Planet S (CN SN)
Copyright: 2015 Hullabaloo Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.planetsmag.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5466
Author: Kelly Malone

COPS BUST THE CLUB

Supporters say police raids on medical marijuana shops stink

I don't usually spend my afternoons in marijuana dispensaries but
after a recent police raid I went to the Saskatchewan Compassion Club
to find out why Kevlar-vested officers stormed through their doors.

During the federal election the Liberal Party promised to revisit
Canada's marijuana laws and now with a majority government it seems
all but inevitable. But that didn't stop around 10 police officers
from crashing into the downtown Saskatoon Compassion Club on Oct. 29,
leading owner Mark Hauk out in handcuffs.

"They just poured in one after another and right away just started
rummaging through the medicine that we had," Hauk explained a few days
after the raid.

Hauk is facing multiple charges, including trafficking and possession
of marijuana. Three other people, including a former University of
Saskatchewan Huskies star with Crohn's disease, were also charged.

Hauk was scheduled to head back to court on Nov. 12 (the day this
paper comes out) but with the charges casting a heavy shadow over his
future he's worried that the "dyed-in-wool Conservative ideologies" of
the city's leadership means he might watch the national changes to pot
laws roll out from behind bars.

Before The Raid

Hauk was a health and safety manager in private industry for 14 years
before he started the Compassion Club around six months ago.

"I was a patient and endeavoured to get my own medicine, and went
through a bad experience," he says, explaining why he started the service
=2E

In 2001, Health Canada became responsible for overseeing medicinal
marijuana after a ruling by the Supreme Court said it was a
constitutional right. Getting a prescription was still difficult on
the often anti-pot Prairies, but once they had one plant, people could
grow more or buy from small-scale producers.

Nearly a decade ago, I was living in a dilapidated apartment above a
Saskatoon bar with a friend with multiple sclerosis. My friend had
been diagnosed young and had major mobility loss while he was still in
his '20s. I saw firsthand how difficult it was to get a prescription
and how my friend gave up on the system and went to the streets.

For him, medicinal marijuana was a life- and game-changer that helped
him stay off of disability and out in the real world.

It became even more difficult when the Marihuana for Medical Purposes
Regulation (MMPR) came into force in 2013. A commercial industry was
suddenly responsible for the production and distribution of medical
marijuana, and complaints over high costs and lack of access abounded.

Before the storefront opened in August, Hauk went in front of a city
council committee to ask for specific regulations around a dispensary
similar to those in Vancouver and Victoria. He also reached out to the
police chief for a meeting. His goal was to provide reasonable access
for the more than 600 members of the Compassion Club.

"There was civil discourse taking place, constructive conversations. I
have formal correspondence from the City saying we will be back to you
by October with an answer," Hauk said.

"So did it catch us by surprise? Most definitely."

Saskatoon Cops Act Alone

Most of the club's work is helping people get prescriptions and basic
information. They also make derivatives like oils and suppositories
which a recent Supreme Court ruling said is a constitutional right.

When the club did hand out dried marijuana, Hauk said it was in small
amounts because their clients couldn't afford the large orders
demanded by the dysfunctional national system, or the wait times.

"If you only have $5 today we can sell you that amount of medicine.
Who would argue that they don't deserve to buy whatever quantity of
medicine they can afford at that time?" Hauk asked.

"Would any of us be okay if we went to the pharmacy right now to pick
up penicillin or any other pharmaceutical and were told that it would
show up in the mail in two weeks? No way, no how."

In September, Health Canada sent a cease-and-desist letters to 13
dispensaries across the country but Hauk chalked it up to election
pandering by a Conservative government trying to looking for
tough-on-crime headlines before people went to the polls.

"I don't honestly think this is connected much to the letter itself=C2=85

It speaks to the dyed-in-the-wool conservative mindset of our police
force and our officials. That's all I can make of it," Hauk said,
adding that Saskatoon Police are alone in their action on the warning.

"The federal regulations are the same for every city in this country
so the only thing different here is the police and mayor decided to
act on this for reasons many of us can't understand."

The dispensary in Whitewood. is still operating.

Saskatoon Police Stay Silent

Since the matter is before the courts, Saskatoon Police are not
commenting and pointed to a press release.

"At this time, it is a criminal offence to have in your possession or
to sell (traffic) marihuana or its derivatives. It is also illegal to
sell or produce marihuana through a dispensary unless approved by
Health Canada," the release stated.

Numbers from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics show Saskatoon
has the fourth highest rate of possession charges in the country at
120.2 per 100,000 people. Regina followed closely behind at 118.21.
Like my friend, many people with medical issues are going to the
streets for their medicine and sometimes walking away with a criminal
record.

"[The police] continue to repeat the same old thing - it's technically
illegal. We understand that but that's not the heart of the issues.
What's at the heart of this issue is that the law is bad and it causes
people to suffer. Quit hiding behind it, step up like the other
progressive mayors and leaders across Canada and look after your
citizens," Hauk said.

Even if it's a bad law, the City hasn't made local regulations and the
federal changes could take awhile. Hauk's freedom is hanging on a hope.

Human Rights Complaint Filed

After the raid, Kelly Anderson decided to volunteer at the club
because he says jailing people who are trying to ease suffering is
wrong. He's launched a complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights
Commission.

"The objectives of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Act is to promote
recognition of the inherent dignity and equal inalienable rights of
all members of the human family and to further public policy in
Saskatchewan that every person is free and equal in dignity and rights
to discourage and eliminate discrimination," Anderson said.

"We are a culture. We have the right to medicate ourselves. We have
the right to dignity. That's what they took away from us, our dignity."

It's unclear how long that process will take.
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MAP posted-by: Matt