DOPE ACTIVIST'S HUBBY CHARGED

LONDON, Ont. -- The husband of a woman who has fought a lengthy court
battle to legalize pot for medicinal purposes faces charges of drug
possession and trafficking.

Mike Harichy, 47, was arrested after a police raid at the Cannabis
Compassion Centre he runs. The centre is owned by his wife, Lynn, who has
multiple sclerosis.

The centre opened last year to provide pot to members with specific
conditions such as AIDS, cancer and multiple sclerosis, or people with a
letter from their doctor endorsing pot use for their ailments.

It was scheduled to close for good after a final delivery of marijuana to
members last Friday, Lynn Harichy said yesterday. But that afternoon police
armed with a search warrant raided the centre and 32.4 grams of marijuana
were seized, said Det. Insp Dave Lucio.

Lynn Harichy, 37, who says she smokes pot to deal with pain and nausea of
her illness, said the seized amount was less than 20 grams. She had decided
to close the centre because of Ottawa's recent announcement of plans for
clinical trials on the medical use of pot.

She made headlines in 1997 when she sat in front of police headquarters and
tried to light a joint. She was charged with possession.

Lynn Harichy's trial has been delayed until a decision by the Ontario Court
of Appeal on a pivotal medicinal marijuana case. Mike Harichy appears in
court tomorrow.