HER FATE IN MINISTER'S HANDS

The fate of a California woman trapped in a legal quagmire over the
medical use of marijuana is in the hands of Justice Minister Anne McLellan.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge yesterday signed an order to have Renee
Danielle Boje extradited to Los Angeles, where a conviction on one of
three drug charges would land her a minimum of 10 years in jail.

The justice minister must now decide whether there are compassionate
reasons not to send the 30-year-old artist, who has lived in Roberts
Creek since coming to Canada on a visitor's permit in May 1998, back
home to stand trial in the U.S.

Boje has argued that medical-marijuana advocate Todd McCormick - with
whom she was collaborating on a guide to medical marijuana use - is
licensed by California to grow the herb, which is considered a
narcotic under U.S. federal law.

U.S. drug agents spotted Boje watering and moving marijuana plants on
the patio of McCormick's Bel Air mansion in July 1997.

Boje's lawyer, John Conroy, will try to convince McLellan the case is
political and merely a convenient way for federal U.S. authorities to
challenge the California law, which allows AIDS and cancer patients to
use marijuana to relieve pain.

Conroy will also argue for compassion for Boje, noting the activity
she engaged in would warrant only an extremely light: sentence in
Canada. Conroy is appealing the judge's ruling, and Boje is free on
bail.

Should McLellan order Boje's extradition, she could seek a judicial
review, which would be: heard at the same time as her appeal in B.C.
Court of Appeal.

"The war on marijuana has about as much to do with marijuana as the
Boston Tea Party had to do with tea," said Boje supporter Maury Mason.