POT COOKIES NEEDED IN PRISON: LAWYER

A lawyer for Michael Patriquen will appear in a Vancouver court tomorrow to
seek an emergency injunction allowing his client to use marijuana in prison.

Patriquen, a Nova Scotia man in an institution in New Brunswick, has a
Health Canada exemption allowing him to use marijuana to treat chronic
pain. But Correction Services Canada has not allowed the 49-year-old pot
activist access to what it considers a contraband drug since he began
serving a six-year sentence for conspiracy to grow and distribute 4.5
kilograms of marijuana. Vancouver lawyer John Conroy, a specialist in
marijuana and penal law, will argue Mr. Patriquen's health is deteriorating
so rapidly he needs immediate access.

Mrs. Stephen Patriquen said her husband has dropped from 202 pounds to 149
pounds and has fallen into a "massive state of depression" while his pain
goes untreated.

Conroy will give the judge three options: Health Canada supply the pot, it
be obtained through the Vancouver Compassion Club, or Patriquen get some of
the illicit marijuana that regularly circulates in prison without fear of
punishment. Should he be allowed marijuana, Patriquen won't be puffing
joints in front of other prisoners. "What we want is the cannabis to be put
in baked goods," said Patriquen's wife.