POT CRUSADER'S TRIAL DELAYED

A judge has postponed a marijuana activist's drug trial so the man can
apply for a medical exemption to legally use the drug.

Ken Kirk, a self-proclaimed pope in the Church of Reformed Druids and a
former Marijuana Party candidate in the federal Edmonton Strathcona riding,
said smoking pot controls his epileptic seizures, back pain and bi-polar
disorder.

His neurologist sent a letter to Health Canada officials Wednesday seeking
an exemption that would allow Kirk to possess and grow marijuana.

The exemption under Section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
could have an impact on his case.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Terry Clackson said he didn't want to hold
up the trial, which was supposed to start Monday, even though the Supreme
Court recently announced it will hear some test cases that could result in
the decriminalization of marijuana.

Clackson relented when the Crown prosecutor agreed to adjourn the trial.

Kirk, 39, and his former girlfriend, Amy von Stackelberg, 21, will now
stand trial in September on charges of producing a controlled substance in
1998.

Kirk said he is awaiting word from the Supreme Court, which agreed Thursday
to hear claims from three convicted pot smokers that federal marijuana laws
are unconstitutional because the drug is harmless.