COMPASSION CLUB OPERATOR SEES POT CHARGES STAYED BY JUDGE

Longtime marijuana activist Ted Smith and co-accused Colby Budda have
had drug charges against them stayed in a ruling by provincial court
Judge Loretta Chaperon.

Both men were charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of
trafficking, stemming from a January 2002 raid on Smith's storefront
Johnson Street business, known as Ted's Bookstore. Smith has
consistently maintained the store is run as a "compassion club,"
meaning it distributes marijuana to people with chronic illness who
find relief from 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, 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. She said her order to stay
the proceedings was the same step taken by the judge in the previous
case.

She said Smith's operation "was clearly a compassion club" with some
restrictions in place for supplying people with marijuana.

"Although the scrutiny of potential members was not as stringent as
the government might have wished, they were doing the job the
government was not doing, namely providing a reliable supply of
marijuana to those in need of it."

The federal government, she explained, had set up a scheme for people
with various conditions to be able to possess marijuana for their use,
but did not set up a reliable means for marijuana to be obtained. The
government was effectively relying on operations like compassion clubs
while continuing to criminalize the clubs' activities, she said.

"In so doing, it was engendering a disrespect for the law and
administration of justice because of the fundamental unfairness of
such a position."

Without the stay, both Smith and Budda would have been convicted of
the trafficking charge, she said.

Following the decision, Smith said he was elated with the outcome of
the trial. "It was a great day," he said, adding that he was not
surprised at the ruling "because the trial this summer has been quite
long and in-depth."

Smith noted that Chaperon raised questions about the constitutionality
of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in relation to the medical
used of marijuana.

Meanwhile, Smith was scheduled back in court today dealing with an
unrelated case. It follows from his Nov. 8, 2000, arrest at the
University of Victoria for sharing marijuana cigarettes during a
session of a marijuana advocacy group known as Hempology 101. "I lit
up seven joints and passed them around a circle," Smith said.