CALGARY MAN CONVICTED OF GROWING OPIUM POPPIES

CALGARY -- Gurdev Samra's garden of opium poppies once offered him a
euphoric cup of tea, but this week, it made him the first person in
Canada to be convicted of growing the illicit plant.

Samra, 63, was handed a one-year conditional sentence after pleading
guilty to growing 1,200 opium poppy plants at his home on Eldorado
Close N.E., which was busted by police last July.

The judge took a dim view of the poppy garden, despite the fact
cultivation of the plants was for personal use in tea, which Samra
had done since he was a youngster in India.

"Clearly, there is no place in Canadian society for growth of this
product," Provincial Court Judge William Cummings said. "It is
completely offensive to the community. A loud message has to be sent."

An expert on the opium poppy said consuming the plant's seeds is is
not comparable to the medicinal use of marijuana. "The idea of
nipping these things in the bud is a good thing," said University of
Calgary professor Peter Facchini, who recently received a $650,000
grant for three years of research into medicinal uses of opium poppy.

Opium is a narcotic formed from the resin released when the pods of
seeds are broken open. It's used to make pharmaceuticals such as morphine.

It's also an illicit drug, most commonly used to make heroin, a
powerful and highly addictive drug.