POT ADVOCATES IN MESSY DIVORCE

Patriquen Fined In 2005, Stephen Faces Proceeds-Of-Crime Trial

Talk about a buzz killer.

Two high-profile marijuana advocates were in Nova Scotia Supreme Court
on Friday fighting over a piece of land in Middle Sackville.

Michael Patriquen and Melanie Stephen are in the process of getting a
divorce, but he had also launched a civil suit against her, trying to
prevent the sale of the Orchard Drive building lot she bought a few
years after they were married in Jamaica in 1982.

"I'm going to strike down the proceedings in this court . . . on the
basis that it does constitute an abuse of process," Justice John
Murphy said Friday.

"It's tying up court time. It's bringing people into court
unnecessarily."

The court's family division is "well into" the process of dividing the
couple's assets, the judge said.

Outside the courtroom, Mr. Patriquen said he's no longer actively
pushing to reform pot laws.

He founded Nova Scotia's now-defunct Marijuana party and ran, along
with his wife, in the 2003 provincial election.

"I'm out of the trenches, so to speak, and I have been for a few
years," said Mr. Patriquen, on parole for conspiring to traffic marijuana.

"I just try to maintain a quiet lifestyle."

The 53-year-old Middle Sackville man was sentenced in 2002 to six
years in prison after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess and
traffic marijuana in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland between 1999 and
2000. He was responsible for organizing several large-scale
marijuana-growing operations in Nova Scotia and trafficking in
Newfoundland.

Mr. Patriquen, on parole since 2004, suffers from chronic back pain
stemming from injuries in a 1999 motor vehicle accident and has
hepatitis C, which he alleges he contracted while in prison.

He has a Health Canada permit to grow his own marijuana for medical
use.

"It keeps me going through the day."

Ms. Stephen is scheduled for trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in
Halifax on Feb. 12 on proceeds-of-crime charges.

"It's going to be a nightmare," she said Friday outside
court.

Ms. Stephen said she learned recently Mr. Patriquen will testify
against her at the February trial.

"According to him now, I made him sell drugs," she said. "I can't roll
a joint, but I made him sell drugs."

Ms. Stephen said she hasn't spent any time with their 14-year-old
daughter since June, when the couple went their separate ways.

While she realizes a judge can't compel her daughter to see her, she
said her heart and door are still open.

The 51-year-old also hasn't seen much of their 24-year-old son since
June. "He'll send me a nasty text message every once in a while."

Ms. Stephen plans to return to politics some day.

"As soon as all my hooey is over, I'm going to join the Liberal
party," she said.

Mr. Patriquen's court battles haven't ended since his release from
jail in 2004. In January of 2005, he was given two years to pay a
$258,427 fine ordered by a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge for
possessing the proceeds of crime.

In June of 2005, Mr. Patriquen was also fined $12,013 after pleading
guilty to evading $24,026 in federal income taxes on unreported
business income.

A Canadian Revenue Agency investigation revealed he intended to avoid
paying taxes by not reporting more than $99,000 in income earned
through illegal drug operations during the 1998 taxation year.