LEGAL POT SMOKER HAS NEIGHBOURS FUMING

VICTORIA -- Eric Young has a medical exemption allowing him to legally
smoke marijuana.

But that didn't impress some of his neighbours in an apartment complex
run by the Capital Region Housing Corp.

They complained that Young's marijuana smoke permeated the hallways,
seeped into other suites and even worsened existing health problems of
other tenants.

The corporation, run by the Capital Regional District, evicted Young
and his wife on the basis that the marijuana smoke posed a "nuisance"
to other tenants.

Young appealed to an arbitrator but lost. He then turned to the
courts.

This week, the B.C. Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether a
tenant can be evicted for exercising his legal right to smoke pot.

Young, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, was granted a legal
exemption three years ago by the federal health department to smoke
marijuana to ease his symptoms.

He now smokes about 1.5 grams a day and says in court documents that
marijuana is the only medicine he uses, "replacing a cocktail of toxic
drugs to keep the symptoms and the progression of multiple sclerosis
at bay."

Young and his wife Marlene say they took every step possible to ensure
the marijuana smoke didn't escape into the hallways.

They say they were harassed by other tenants who just didn't support
the idea of smoking pot.