FRINGE MAYORAL CANDIDATE CHARGED WITH TRAFFICKING POT

Peter Styrsky, 49, Faces 34 Drug Charges After Raid On Advocate Group
In East End

If any publicity is good publicity, then Peter Styrsky's run for
mayor took a positive turn when police announced yesterday he's been
charged with drug trafficking.

Mr. Styrsky was one of 23 people arrested in a police raid Wednesday
on a compassionate marijuana club in the east end. He is believed to
be the only one seeking office in next month's municipal election.

A dozen people were each charged with a single count of possession.
The others face a total of 193 charges, mostly related to the
production or sale of marijuana. Mr. Styrsky, 49, is in the latter
group and faces 34 charges.

The raid targeted a local branch of the Assembly of the Church of the
Universe. Devotees say marijuana is endorsed by biblical references
to the tree of life. Adherents of the 37-year-old church are obliged
to use marijuana as a sacrament and to give it to those who are sick.

The local group raided Wednesday was called the Beaches Mission of
God and presented itself as an advocate of medicinal marijuana.
Although normally open in the evenings, the doors were locked last
night and the lights off.

"It's a bummer, it really is," said Rudy, who strolled up to the
house, not having heard that the place was raided. "What a drag."

Rudy did not want to give his last name, citing the stigma still
attached to marijuana use in some circles. He said he had been
acquainted with the group for a relatively short time.

"I wouldn't use the term 'friends,' but we're brothers spiritually.
They're just very genuine, relaxed, spiritual," he said. "I guarantee
that, quite apart from their predicament, they're thinking now, 'What
about the guy with MS who can't get his source of medicinal marijuana?' "

But police say they acted on complaints about an established
grow-operation, not a compassion club. And they allege that they
found far more drugs -- 4.5 kilograms of marijuana, 1.2 kilograms of
hashish, 151 marijuana plants and hash oil -- than a medicinal permit
would allow.

The officers who raided the site say they got some argument from
those there, who had allegedly been smoking up a storm.

"They were quite wired, you couldn't see three feet in front of your
face for the marijuana smoke," Detective Sergeant Larry Cowley said.
"There was initially some [verbal] resistance. They basically said,
'This is a church, and I'm Reverend So-and-so.' "

The Church of the Universe sells ordinations, though, and it's not
clear what authority that title gives members. In fact, when Mr.
Styrsky filed his papers in April, he identified himself as Rev.
Peter Okatar Styrsky.

Mr. Styrsky's legal troubles do not preclude him continuing his
campaign, city officials said. Even if he decides to withdraw, his
name cannot be removed from the already-printed ballots.

He has not been seen as a front-running candidate for the Nov. 13
vote. In the event that he does win the race, though, and is also
convicted of the drug charges, he could not hold office while incarcerated.

"There are requirements under the Municipal Act that you must attend
meetings," explained Greg Essensa, the city's director of elections
and registry services. "If you miss a number of meetings in a row,
say because you are in prison, you're not fulfilling your duties."