INTERNET MARIJUANA STORE BUSTED

First Case Of Its Kind

MONTREAL - The RCMP has shut down an Internet company that sells
marijuana seeds.

The Montreal-based company Heaven's Stairway has operated brazenly
since 1998 and is even listed on Quebec's business registry. The
company sold seeds with quirky labels like Crippy Bud and Deep Blue Rush.

Yesterday, the RCMP described the large-scale bust as the first of
its kind in Canada.

Company owner Richard Baghdadlian, 38, and six others have been
charged with importing and trafficking in marijuana and conspiracy to
do the same. All have been released on bail.

Mr. Baghdadlian's lawyer, Loris Cavaliere, said he has yet to see the
evidence: "It's the first time I've ever seen a case like this."

During the RCMP investigation the company received 30 orders a day at
an average price of $100 each, said Sergeant Andre Potvin of the
RCMP. The company is believed to have purchased its seeds from
dealers in British Columbia, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

Sgt. Potvin said there is evidence the company sold seeds to
customers all over North America and to several other foreign
countries. When the RCMP carried out its search warrants it seized
more than 200,000 marijuana seeds, enough to supply 500 greenhouses
with 400 plants.

The company received orders through its various Web sites. Customers
would pay for seeds by mailing either cash or money orders to post
office boxes in Montreal.

Sgt. Potvin said the RCMP was aware of Heaven's Stairway for years
but that it lacked the resources to pursue the company until a new
drug-enforcement team was assembled in 2004.

Marc-Boris St. Maurice, president of the Marijuana Foundation, which
seeks to reform marijuana legislation, said the case could affect
about two or three dozen companies in Canada that sell seeds either
by mail or in stores.