POT CRUSADER SAYS OPP PROBE UNFAIR

Man Acquitted Of Driving Under Influence, But Police Still Asking For
Licence Review

Rick Reimer won a landmark acquittal in January for impaired driving while
under the influence of marijuana, but his battles with the Ontario
Provincial Police are raging on.

After repeatedly asking, Mr. Reimer, a retired Wilno, Ont. lawyer, was
given a copy of an OPP letter this week that urges the Ministry of
Transportation to review his fitness to hold a driver's licence.

Citing "public pressure," OPP Const. Brad Burton, the arresting officer,
wrote that Mr. Reimer's multiple sclerosis and his continuous use of
marijuana for medical relief "could significantly interfere" with his
motoring abilities.

Mr. Reimer is upset with the OPP about the letter, which he only discovered
after a telephone call from a reporter. When he first asked Killaloe OPP
about it, they acknowledged its existence, apologized for speaking to the
media about it, but declined to immediately give him a copy of the
document, dated Feb. 13.

Mr. Reimer, in a written response to the OPP, says Const. Burton does not
make clear to the ministry that he was acquitted of the charge and that the
court rejected the evidence of impairment. "Anyone reading this is going to
be left with a false impression."

Mr. Reimer, 49, has a Health Canada exemption to smoke marijuana to relieve
the impact of MS, which include an unsteady gait, slightly slurred speech
and occasional loss of balance.

Mr. Reimer wonders whether there is a vendetta against him, particularly
given a civil suit against the OPP he filed last September, claiming
damages for an incident on March 27, 2002.

On that day, Mr. Reimer was making one of his first court appearances on
the impaired driving charge, which was laid after he was pulled over on
Feb. 11 of that year. As he openly smoked marijuana in the parking lot of
the Killaloe courthouse, Mr. Reimer said he was accosted by an OPP
constable and ordered to show his Health Canada exemption.

When he declined, Mr. Reimer says he was roughly and illegally arrested in
front of a taping television crew, handcuffed and kept in a holding cell
for 45 minutes. The ex-lawyer says he was injured during the incident,
which he considers an assault.

Mr. Reimer further claims in his statement that the constable was acting on
a memo from a sergeant who told officers that Mr. Reimer did not have a
valid exemption to legally smoke marijuana and should, if found smoking, be
treated like a non-exempt person.

Mr. Reimer says he had a valid exemption, which he was not compelled to
produce on demand.

Mr. Reimer said yesterday he is less interested in monetary damages listed
in the suit than taking a stand about the importance of respecting
individual rights. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but I consider that
I'm sort of like the litmus paper between the police and the common folk. I
see police taking way too much for granted about their powers."

The OPP have yet to file a statement of defence, but its legal branch is
reviewing its response. OPP spokeswoman Sgt. Kristine Cholette said that
because the matter is before the court, she could not respond to specific
claims made in the suit.

Mr. Reimer, 48, said that in 20 years as a criminal lawyer, he had never
heard of a police officer writing a letter asking the ministry to review
the abilities of a motorist. "I'm a very good driver. I can't see it as
anything but being churlish."

When contacted by the Citizen, Const. Burton referred calls to media
relations Sgt. Cholette.

Sgt. Cholette would not even confirm the letter was written or sent because
she said it would be inappropriate to comment on a private citizen who is
not a suspect or the subject of a criminal investigation.

"If he says that this is what we've done, then there's nothing I can do to
disclaim that. He's free to talk about this. We're not."

She also said, in general, if the police have a concern about an
individual's driving, "we will do what we think is necessary to ensure the
safety of the public."

The sergeant also said it isn't unusual for police to send a letter to the
Ministry of Transportation asking for a review of a driver's licence. The
ministry is not bound to accept the advice, she added.

The Ministry of Transportation has a medical review section for licensed
drivers. It gets mandatory reports from physicians and eye doctors, but
also receives input from police.

The review section can follow up by seeking more information about the
health of drivers or direct them to a provincial assessment centre where
their physical condition and driving skills would be re-examined.

On Feb. 11, 2002, Mr. Reimer was driving down a snowy county road outside
Killaloe on a clear morning when he was followed for several kilometres by
Const. Burton.

The officer testified that Mr. Reimer's vehicle crossed the centre line
several times -- in a five-kilometre section of road.

When he pulled over the ex-lawyer, Mr. Reimer was smoking a joint, one of
10 to 12 he consumes every day.

On Jan. 8, in the absence of any evidence about the level of THC in Mr.
Reimer's system, a judge ruled there was reasonable doubt as to his level
of impairment.