CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST MEDICAL MARIJUANA CLUB

TORONTO -- The federal Justice Department dropped its prosecution of a
marijuana "compassion club" in Toronto yesterday, potentially opening the
door for similar operations to start up and provide a supply to medical
users across the country.

Two directors of the Toronto Compassion Centre, which had more than 1,200
clients, were charged with a number of marijuana-trafficking related
charges after a dozen police officers raided the operation in August 2002.

"The Crown asks to withdraw all charges," Justice Department prosecutor
Kevin Wilson said during a 30-second proceeding in the Ontario Court of
Justice yesterday.

The Crown attorney did not provide any reasons for the decision yesterday,
which was scheduled as the opening day of a preliminary hearing for Warren
Hitzig, 27, and Zach Naftolin, 26, who have been free on bail for the past
17 months. Similar charges against a Montreal compassion club were thrown
out in December 2002 by a Quebec judge.

"I am not saying today's withdrawal is a green light for compassion clubs.
But perhaps it puts them on a stronger legal foundation than they were
before," said Alan Young, lawyer for the Toronto compassion club.

The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled last fall that the federal government's
medical marijuana regulations were unconstitutional because they required
medically authorized people to acquire the drug on the black market. The
court said the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations would only be valid if
the government authorized previously "unlicensed suppliers" such as
compassion clubs.

Health Canada has not issued licences to compassion clubs and last month it
announced producers would not be allowed to grow for more than one
authorized medical user. The government has also approved 43 applications
to distribute dried marijuana or marijuana seeds to medical users, under
its marijuana cultivation contract with Prairie Plant Systems Inc.

Mr. Young suggested the Health Canada restrictions will not stop compassion
clubs from springing up across the country. "Our position is that as long
as the Department of Justice does not want to prosecute these people, we
are not concerned about Health Canada's unwillingness to authorize."