DRUG 'CLIP' OPERATION RULED POSSESSION

A Supreme Court Justice found six locals guilty of possession friday for
their part in a marijuana "clipping" operation.

The case posed a unique question for Justice J.R. Romilly, namely whether
"clipping" marijuana should be considered to be trafficking or merely
possession. In a lengthy written decision, Romilly determined it was the
latter.

"The evidence is clear that these accused were at the premises of Ms.
Bullaro for one purpose and one purpose only," Romilly wrote, debunking
Crown's trafficking argument.

"That purpose was to clip marijuana buds and they were going to be paid for
that service."

Duane Lefferson, Chris Grindley, Kenneth Wilkinson, Heather Steeple, Brian
Levesque and Annaka Westwick were found not guilty of possession for the
purpose of trafficking. They were, however, convicted of the lesser offence
of possession of a controlled substance.

Brent Lukianchuk, Arthur Kaytor and Chad Baba were cleared of all charges.

"These three accused just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong
time," Romilly ruled.

Quentin Michel was acquitted because he was not identified as one of the
persons found in the residence during the police raid.

The case stemmed from an evening in November, 1998 which saw police execute
a search warrant on a residence on Bass Road.

Police discovered a clipping operation where occupants of the house were in
the process of cutting buds from the stalks of harvested marijuana plants.
In all, more than 22.5 kilograms of marijuana bud and leaves were seized in
the raid.

"The case is significant," said defence lawyer Shawn Buckley, whose client
was found not guilty.

"It shows that clipping will not always be considered to be trafficking
under the new Controlled Drug and Substance Act."

Romilly told the accused that they made a foolish mistake.

"It seemed at the time, I'm sure, an easy way to make some money."

The accused each received fines ranging from $600 to $1,000, and $100 to
$150 each in federal surcharges. They also have criminal records as a
result of the finding, which will likely restrict their ability to travel
out of country.