COMPASSION CLIENTS LEFT HOLDING THE BAG

Although they busted him for allegedly trafficking in marijuana,
Mid-Island Compassion Club founder Mark Russell isn't bitter towards
the police.

He's very clear about that.

"The police treated us respectfully and didn't come busting in,"
Russell says. "They have a job to do and are not allowed to pick and
choose which laws they are going to support."

Russell says he has always held the police in high regard, having an
uncle who was a police officer.

"They're just people," he says. "They're not minions of some evil
overlord or anything like that. I'm angry with them because they are
upholding what I consider to be an illegal law, but they have to do
their job."

Russell made the comments in light of a special meeting he held at his
Dashwood-area home for club members to discuss the ramifications of
the police raid.

"There was a lot of venting, a lot of anger, people telling me their
problems and experiences, talking to each other and complaining about
the law," Russell says. "The best thing about the meeting was that I
got to introduce people to the folks at the North Island club and
that's going to help quite a bit."

Members of the club seem to mostly share Russell's point of view,
although some question why police would target people who are sick.

"There are meth houses that need to be busted," says club member Ron
Harkness. "Why pick on the sick?"

Harkness has Hepatitis C and he says marijuana prevents the queasiness
he gets in his stomach.

"It works for me and I've seen it work for other people," he
says.

Brian Sherwood echoes Harkness' concerns about police priorities in
the bust.

"If these guys want to do something about the problem they think they
have, they're going after the wrong people," he says. "Like any good
hunter, it's always easier to go after the sick and dying than the
healthy ones."

Sherwood also has chronic Hepatitis C and he says marijuana has been a
boon to his quality of life.

"Marijuana has filled the bill," he says. "I don't have to take
anything for nausea, joint and muscle pain, cramps, fibromyalgia,
anxiety or depression."

Heather Keller, also a club member, says she finds marijuana to be a
great relief.

"I have MS (multiple sclerosis) and arthritis and I have a miserable
time, and there are people dealing with things that are way beyond
what I'm dealing with," she says. "To hassle them is ludicrous. It's
not dangerous to society."

Liz Stonard suffers from fibromyalgia and she, too, says marijuana
gives her wide-ranging relief.

"I've tried muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatories and I get side
effects that range from depression to gastrointestinal upset and
nervousness," she says. "I rely on marijuana to get me through the
day. It allows me to do my day to day activities and function as a
normal human being."

Russell says he has yet to retain a lawyer and isn't sure what last
month's bust is going to mean to him. However, Sherwood has no doubt
about what he thinks should happen.

"I think it should be thrown out of court and the guy who blew the
whistle should come to my house with a big bag of medicine for me," he
says.