DYING MAN ASKS COURT TO MAKE GOV'T GIVE HIM POT

TORONTO - The first Canadian awarded an exemption by Ottawa to smoke
marijuana for medicinal purposes was in court today seeking a government
supply of the illicit drug.

Jim Wakeford, who has full-blown AIDS, has unsuccessfully tried to cultivate
pot. Now, he is seeking a court order that will force Ottawa to supply
marijuana to him as a medicine.

The Ontario Superior Court heard Wednesday that a proposed federal research
project could eventually meet Wakeford's drug need, but his lawyer said that
won't happen fast enough for his client.

"Jim doesn't need research, he's a dying man," said Louis Sokolov.

Wakeford's lawyer told court there are at least two sources of legal
marijuana that Health Canada could access - the National Institute of Drug
Abuse in the U.S. and a private pharmaceutical company in the U.K.

Lawyer Alan Young, who also represents Wakeford, 55, asked court to also
grant immunity to caregivers who put themselves in legal jeopardy when
supplying Wakeford with pot or helping him cultivate marijuana plants.

"To think of someone with a terminal illness having to roam the streets
looking for a dealer is really not something I think Canadians will accept
or tolerate," Young told Ontario Superior Court.

Since a groundbreaking ruling in 1999, when Wakeford won the right to
possess, cultivate and use marijuana for the purposes of treating his
AIDS-related symptoms, about 35 Canadians have received similar exemptions
from Ottawa.

"I live alone with a cat," Wakeford said Wednesday in an interview. "Unlike
Blanche DuBois, I can't rely on the kindness of strangers. I depend on the
health care system."