WEED LETTER VALUELESS

Crusader Arrested Again

TORONTO -- A letter allowing a man suffering from AIDS to grow and
smoke pot for medicinal reasons isn't worth the paper it's printed
on, says his lawyer.

Jim Wakeford, 56, who has had AIDS for eight years, was granted an
exemption in 1999 to cultivate, possess and smoke marijuana to
counteract severe nausea and spasms caused by his medication.

Although Wakeford is one of 170 Canadians who have letters of
exemption under Section 56 of the Controlled Substances Act, police
have arrested and charged him twice in the past two weeks.

"The exemption is an illusion. It makes you wonder if it's worth the
paper it's printed on," said Wakeford's lawyer, Prof. Alan Young, who
teaches law at York University.

Wakeford was charged March 2 with possession of marijuana for the
purpose of trafficking. Four York Region police officers removed
150-200 marijuana plants from a farm in the village of Udora, near
Uxbridge. On March 13, Ontario Provincial Police stopped Wakeford on
his way to Toronto and allegedly found him in possession of a pound
of marijuana. Young said police should have used their discretion and
turned a blind eye.

"This isn't what the narcotics laws are about. Whatever (purpose)
they are meant to serve, they are clearly not (intended) for the
harassment of sick people," Young said.

Coincidently, the day Wakeford was charged by York cops he had just
gone before the Ontario Court of Appeal to ask that caregivers also
be granted immunity from prosecution.

"This is exactly why we went to court. The exemptions are not
adequate protection," Young said. "Maybe they're retaliating because
he is outspoken. Whatever the reasons may be, it was a poor exercise
of police discretion to charge this sick man."

Wakeford's letter only entitles him to be in possession of 30 grams
of pot for his own use. But without a safe legal source for medicinal
marijuana, Wakeford has had to grow it himself in larger quantities.

"There are so many flaws and shortcomings - it's going to take more
than this," Young said.