CANNABIS ACTIVIST SPEAKS OUT ON RAID AND BOOZE

Local marijuana activist Mik Mann is worried a recent police raid of a
Coombs compassion club means bad news for those who legally grow and
consume the herb.

Mann has a licence to grow marijuana for his own personal use for six
years now.

However, he says that since the Federal Conservatives took over in
Ottawa, disturbing signs have arisen that the 'moral right' is unhappy
with current laws that allow some to grow and use cannabis legally.

Mark Russell, the founder of the Coombs chapter of the Cannabis Buyers
Club of Canada (CBC) was raided by Courtenay RCMP members on Dec. 22
and is now facing a number of charges, including several counts of
trafficking in a controlled substance.

Russell had run the club for the last 5 years and had 85 clients, some
of whom reside in Port Alberni.

Mann is disturbed that someone like Russell, who was running the club
on a compassionate level, is being likened "to a drug dealer"

"It's the Harper government-they don't like this program" Mann said,
adding that he has heard rumors of a steady push to quash the program
that allows some 1,400 Canadians to use and legally produce marijuana
for medical purposes.

Cannabis is used by people to help ease the symptoms of a number of
diseases, including glaucoma and MS. It is also used to stimulate the
appetite & ease nausea in cancer and AIDS patients.

Mann is allowed to grow & store a certain amount of cannabis for his
own medical use. He has spinal arthritis and uses marijuana for pain
relief and to stimulate his appetite.

According to Mann, some 76% of the population agree marijuana laws
should be relaxed. He believes the only reason why the government has
failed to act on this fact is pressure from the U.S., where a war on
drugs has been the rhetoric of politicians for many years.

"They are bullies" he said.

Mann is not shy about his beliefs - most days he wears a bright
bandana decorated with cannabis leaves - he also has a cannabis leaf
tattooed on his forearm.

He displays his licence in a frame on the door leading to his
basement, where his 'garden' is located.

While he's never had any serious run -ins with the law here in Port
Alberni, he does worry about events such as the raid of Russell's
Compassion Club.

He finds the stance of the police puzzling, especially in light of the
many obvious problems alcohol causes in the community.

He pointed to an article in this week's Times that recounted the fact
that 40 per cent of the calls local police responded to on New Years
Eve were alcohol-related.

He said cannabis users rarely engage in the kind of violent activities
that drinkers do and calls booze the real "gateway drug" leading to
family violence, impaired driving and other bad behaviour.

Mann is calling on authorities to legalize marijuana, regulate it and
reap the benefits of the taxation of this popular substance.

"This would free up the police to go after the drunks" Mann said,
adding he would like to see public opinion recognize the negative
affects of booze on society.

"It would be nice to have an alternative to either drinking or not
drinking" he said.