POLICE RAID HOME, SEIZE MARIJUANA

A Richmond man who claims he had government approval to grow pot in his home
is facing cultivation charges after police busted an indoor grow operation
Tuesday.

Police say they found 400 plants in the home of 49-year-old Dr. Paul Hornby,
at 10471 Palmberg Rd.

They also found 1,800 smaller plants, and approximately 10 boxes full of
mature marijuana bud in a green house at the rear of the property.

An M-16 assault rifle and two prohibited knives also turned up in the police
search.

Richmond RCMP media liaison Const. Peter Thiessen said police had the home
under surveillance for some time before making their move April 10.

The arrest of Hornby has created a sensation with marijuana advocates.

Hilary Black, president of Vancouver's Compassion Club - a non-profit
organization that provides low-cost pot to its members, many of whom claim a
medical need - said Hornby's case is an example of the "archaic and
repressive" conditions under which legitimate medicinal-marijuana
researchers must operate.

In a press release, Black described Hornby as a "accomplished herbal
medicine researcher" who was growing the pot with the financial backing of
the Compassion Club.

She added the plants seized by police from Hornby's operation could have
supplied 1,400 members with medicinal plants.

Black said Hornby has the legal permission from Health Canada to both
possess and produce cannabis.

Thiessen said a government certificate was produced by Hornby during the
police search, listing an address on Pandora Street in Vancouver.

But, he said, police understood the permit to allow its holder to possess
marijuana for the purpose of analyzing its THC content, and not to grow it.

Health Canada officials say growing marijuana is still illegal in Canada
with only one exception.

"I am not aware of any certificate to cultivate, harvest or grow marijuana
outside of the five-year contract we awarded last December (to Prairie Plant
Systems Inc. in Saskatchewan)," said Roslyn Tremblay, media relations
spokeswoman with Health Canada.

Prairie Systems was contracted by the government to grow controlled
research-grade pot for medicinal purposes, Tremblay said.

Meanwhile, Thiessen said police are considering laying cultivation charges
against Hornby.

The police investigation continues.