MARIJUANA CRUSADER FACES JAIL AFTER PLANTS EXPOSED

Manitoba Man Faces A Year In Custody Since He Has Previous Drug
Conviction

WINNIPEG -- A medical marijuana crusader who got caught running a grow
operation from his home when it was broken into may be facing jail
time.

The Crown is seeking one year of custody for Chris Buors, mainly due
to a prior drug conviction that netted a conditional sentence.

Justice Alan MacInnes reserved his decision until Nov. 17. MacInnes
was critical Friday of Buors's argument that he isn't a danger to
society and shouldn't be locked up.

"You can't be a law unto yourself with impunity. At what point does he
become accountable the same way every other citizen is?" asked MacInnes.

Defence lawyer Bonnie MacDonald pleaded for leniency on the grounds
that Buors was only selling marijuana to people who needed it for
medicinal purposes through the Compassion Club he operates.

The club is one of about a dozen across the country through which
people buy discounted marijuana for medical use.

The outlets cater to people with painful ailments who wouldn't
normally come into contact with drug dealers, but who believe that
smoking marijuana provides relief from pain.

Buors said his club has 25 members with a variety of illnesses,
including Crohn's disease, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis and depression.

Ottawa amended federal drug laws two years ago to allow a limited
number of patients with such ailments to obtain a special exemption
that allows them to possess marijuana for their personal use.

But only a few of the people in Buors's club have marijuana
exemptions, court was told.

MacDonald compared Buors to Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, who
were persecuted for standing up for what they believed in.

"He is helping other people who are suffering," she said.

MacInnes scoffed at the comparisons. He said Buors's personal beliefs
about legalizing marijuana can't supercede the Criminal Code.

"Just because someone believes in capital punishment, does that mean
they can go out and kill a sex offender or a murderer?" he asked MacDonald.

"I have concerns about the message [a conditional sentence] would send
to law-abiding citizens of this community."

Buors pleaded guilty to cultivation and possession of marijuana for
the purpose of trafficking.

Police discovered 59 marijuana plants and hydroponic equipment valued
at $2,500 in his home.