TESTIMONY OF GROW-OP 'EXPERT' BACKS ACCUSED MAN'S DEFENCE

A Mayfair man accused of running a marijuana grow operation doesn't
dispute he grew the illegal street drug, but he maintains it was for
his own use and not for sale.

"He needed it for his medical condition," said lawyer Bill Roe in
defending 35-year-old Mark John Evanishen, who is charged with two
counts of producing cannabis marijuana and cannabis resin and one
charge of possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

"He was a chronic drug user. He was using a high amount of marijuana
every day."

In Saskatoon provincial court Friday, Roe argued that Evanishen's
grow operation in a former school in Mayfair, about 110 kilometres
northwest of Saskatoon, was not sophisticated enough to be a
commercial operation. A Saskatoon man formerly convicted of drug
charges agreed.

"This is not industry standard," said Jason Hiltz, who was called as
an expert witness for the defence.

He pointed to what he said was inexpensive equipment, a poor design
for the grow operation and less than optimal growing conditions.

"If we were looking at a ladder with 10 rungs, it would not have made
the first step," said Hiltz.

He was called as an "expert" witness because of his 18 years of
experience with indoor grow operations, which included two drug convictions.

Hiltz spent 15 months in jail after he was convicted in 1988 for
cultivating and possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.
In 2003, he received a conditional sentence after being caught with
16 pounds of marijuana. For 10 years, he also owned a "legitimate"
hydroponics business where he grew cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce.

Hiltz approached Roe after he heard about testimony given by an RCMP
officer in March that characterized Evanishen's operation as high-scale.

"My initial motive was fairness," said Hiltz in an interview

"I called Mr. Roe . . . and he called me into his office and allowed
me the opportunity to view the evidence, where I gave my opinion that
it was a very low-end operation."

Hiltz, who wouldn't say how much he was paid, or by whom, to testify
on Evanishen's behalf, also said the quality of the marijuana grown
by Evanishen would have been so poor that no one would have wanted to buy it.

"In my circle, I don't think anybody would look at it," he testified.

When the Crown presented its case in March against Evanishen, it
called as a witness a former Saskatoon RCMP drug investigator who
said the operation found in the former Mayfair school contained
enough plants to produce a minimum of 10.5 kilograms of marijuana. If
the bud could stay indefinitely potent, that would be enough
marijuana for a heavy user to smoke five joints a day for 22.8 years,
said RCMP Cpl. Christopher Thomas.

In his closing argument on Friday, Crown prosecutor Wade McBride told
the court that based on Thomas' testimony, Evanishen's personal
consumption of marijuana simply couldn't keep up with his production
of the drug.

"It seems to be stretching the bounds of credibility," said McBride.

He said that if Evanishen needed the marijuana for medical purposes,
he should have applied for a medical exemption.

Evanishen, who has been held in jail since his arrest in February
2005, will be back in court on June 23 when Judge Robert Jackson
hands down his judgment.

Several other charges stemming from Evanishen's arrest will also be
heard at that time.

RCMP officers recovered a loaded shotgun and another 18 rounds of
loose ammunition when they raided the school house where Evanishen was living.