POT STORE TO OPEN IN MONTREAL

But Only Those With Doctor's Note Can Buy

MONTREAL -- Pot heads won't be able to drop in for a bag or a joint
when a store opens for business selling marijuana to AIDS sufferers
and those with chronic illnesses.

"It won't be just anyone who can come here," said Louise-Caroline
Bergeron, director of the Compassion Club, slated to open tomorrow.

"It's very controlled."

The club hopes to have the same relationship with police as a similar
club in Vancouver.

"We intend to keep them up to date on the running of our operation,
and we hope to experience the same tolerance as in Vancouver,"
Bergeron said.

The store is across the street from a police station.

Bergeron acknowledged her club will operate in "a grey zone"
legally.

"People will have to have a doctor's note recommending cannabis for
pain relief, and it's only for those with serious illness such as
AIDS, or those undergoing chemotherapy for cancer or people suffering
from epileptic seizures."

The growing and smoking pot is illegal in Canada. But an increasing
number of Canadians with health problems have been asking for the
legal right to use marijuana ever since James Wakeford, a Toronto man
with AIDS, won an exemption from the law earlier this year to use and
grow marijuana.

By mid-July, the federal government had received about 50 similar
requests.

The Montreal police planned to consult legal and medical authorities
before deciding how to react to the club, said Const. Alain
Lefrancois.