JUDGE ACCEPTS COMPASSION CLUB ARGUMENT IN STAYING VICTORIA MARIJUANA CHARGES

VICTORIA - Longtime marijuana activist Ted Smith and co-accused Colby
Budda have had drug charges against them stayed.

Both men were charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of
trafficking, stemming from a January 2002 raid on Smith's store, known
as Ted's Bookstore.

Smith has consistently maintained the store is run as a "compassion
club," distributing marijuana to people with chronic illness who find
relief using the drug.

Staying a charge still allows it to be reactivated within a year, but
they rarely are.

In her written reasons for judgment, provincial court judge Loretta
Chaperon cited an earlier case which, like Smith's and Budda's, rested
on the contention that marijuana was being used for a compassion club.

"In this case, I am satisfied that Smith and Budda operated a
compassion club to provide persons with a medical need with a safe,
reliable supply of marijuana," she wrote.