MARIJUANA 'WARRIOR' GETS 18 MONTHS

Plants Were Intended For Medicinal Purposes, Turmel Tells Court

Medicinal marijuana activist Raymond Turmel, a self-described "warrior for
marijuana," lost his battle yesterday when he was sentenced to 18 months'
detention for possessing and cultivating the drug with intent to traffic.

"I told the judge: 'Give me life or send me home to my wife,'" said Mr.
Turmel before he headed into court in Gatineau.

But Superior Court Justice Jean-Pierre Plouffe gave him neither yesterday
in a decision at the end of a very public trial.

In July 2000, Mr. Turmel was arrested after police raided his Hull
apartment and found 450 marijuana seedlings and 153 mature plants.

Mr. Turmel said the marijuana -- which the Crown testified could yield
between 30,000 and 60,000 joints -- was used medicinally and distributed to
his chronically ill wife, his mother, who was a cancer patient, and a
neighbour with back pain.

His wife, Denise Beaudoin, testified she smoked five or six joints a day --
more than 2,000 a year -- to ease chronic pain caused by a 1998 car accident.

Mr. Turmel was found guilty of the charges in November.

The judge told the court he decided against a conditional sentence because
the charges against Mr. Turmel were aggravated by several factors, the most
serious being a previous conviction in 1992 for intention to traffic cocaine.

Mr. Justice Plouffe also cited "the large quantity involved in this
sophisticated and large-scale operation," as well as Mr. Turmel's "way of
life" and his likelihood of recidivism.

Mr. Turmel, who acted as his own counsel throughout the trial, has already
prepared an appeal.

"This is a war to legalize marijuana and I'm one of the front-line
warriors," he said.

Quebec Crown prosecutor Anouk Desaulniers had recommended a 20-month
sentence based on Mr. Turmel's previous convictions going back to 1990.

"There is a risk that he will reoffend, given that he has not yet grasped
why what he did was illegal," Ms. Desaulniers said.

Mr. Turmel's mother and daughter, who attended the sentencing, were not
pleased.

"They say my dad is a danger to society, but I know he's not," said
Marie-Eve, 18.

During the trial, Mr. Turmel said he and his wife had tried, and failed, to
obtain permission to use and grow medicinal marijuana under Health Canada's
Medical Marijuana Access Regulations, which came into effect August 2001.