A GOOD HIT FOR LAUGH ADDICTS

Comedy Show Benefits Crusade To Legalize Pot

One person's recreation is another's remedy, but unlike tequila or
Tylenol, using marijuana can land you in the slammer -- whatever you
use it for.

Oh Cannabis!, a benefit for the Medical Marijuana Defense Fund and the
Toronto Compassion Centre, aims to help change that. The show, next
Wednesday at Yuk Yuk's Superclub, is simply smokin' with top stand-up
talent. Comedy addicts will get a dose of some rollicking reefer
madness as Ed the Sock's side-kick, Craig Campbell; Nubian Disciples
main man, Kenny Robinson; Jerry Springer hoaxster Johnny Gardhouse;
Tom Stade, Alan Park, Kid Keno, Lou Eisen and Kerry TaImage, among
others, make laughter matter for the seriously ill.

What lures Lou Eisen (the mastermind behind Yuk Yuk's Yids in the
Hall) to the cause is that "I got caught ... oh, uh, I got involved
because if something helps somebody medically they should be allowed
to have it, whether it's marijuana or Ben and Jerry's. In fact, if Ben
and Jerry had a marijuana-flavoured ice cream, that'd be great -- not
for me, of course."

Oh Cannabis! producer and comic, Howard Dover, 36, who is busy
preparing his showcase at the renowned Caroline's Comedy Club, cracks,
"What prompted me to do the second benefit was that the first one only
raised enough for a couple of ounces."

More seriously, he adds, "I have a cousin who is stricken with AIDS
and is petitioning for medical marijuana."

AIDS patient Jim Wakeford, who may be in attendance at the benefit, is
one of only two Canadians who are currently allowed to use medical
marijuana.

The courts, according to York University law professor Alan Young, are
"sitting on 90 other applications with no light at the end of the tunnel."

Young will be championing the cause at the Ontario Court of Appeals on
October 6 and 7.

"I've been involved in issues relating to cannabis roughly 5 years
now. What I consider to be a grave injustice is the Canadian
government converting law-abiding, productive citizens into criminals
simply because they chose to ... medicate themselves in alternative
ways."

Comic Kerry Talmage, who undergoes treatment for diabetes, a kidney
transplant, high blood pressure and cancer, says, "Everybody knows
that I've had 35 operations in the past five years. I've seen the
light so many times God sends me a hydro bill."

"My medical background says it all. I take six needles a day ... two
for diabetes. So if anybody's for the use of marijuana for medicinal
purposes, it's me -- I use it. You know where I can get any Cheezies?"

Only tickets sold in advance at the following locations will benefit the
Toronto Compassion Centre and the Medical Marijuana Defense Fund: Toronto
Compassion Centre (654-6120); The Toronto Hemp Company, (667 Yonge); Ed's
Record World, (2359 Yonge); and The Hidden Jungle (3327 Lakeshore W.).