RCMP BUST ALLEGED DIAL-A-DOPE 'COMPASSION CLUB'

A ring of 13 alleged dial-a-dope dealers that police say were selling
drugs through the front of a medical marijuana compassion club has
been busted by North Vancouver RCMP.

The group, allegedly headed by 39-year-old Jason Thon of Vancouver,
called itself The Compassion Association and was busted after police
got an anonymous tip in September 2007.

Compassion clubs sell marijuana to those who use it for medical reasons.

Police say the only legal way to buy marijuana is with federal permits.

Search warrants were executed on Thon's home and storage locker,
turning up about six kilograms of marijuana according to police.

Charged with trafficking in a controlled substance are Vancouver
residents Kevin Moriarty, 39, eight counts; Debra McDonald-Myers, 32,
four counts; Laura Marsden, 27, four counts; Angela Gentili, 30, two
counts; Sarah Albo, 28, one count; Jessica Wilson, 28, one count;
Jason Thon, 39, one count; and Katherine Wedemire, 27, six counts and
Katie Kreter, 30, of White Rock, one count.

Crown counsel John Whyte and a number of lawyers for the alleged
dealers have already appeared in North Vancouver Provincial Court
several times for this case, with a formal reading of charges
scheduled for last Thursday moved to March 26 because new information
in the case had to be disclosed, Whyte said in court.

Moriarty sat in a glass enclosure in court last Thursday, wearing
sweat shirt and jeans, a goatee and a rather mild-mannered look,
while Whyte and Moriarty's counsel Kirk Tousaw agreed to terms for
his release from custody, including Moriarty not contact any of his
co-accused and not be in possession of any wireless communications
devices outside his residence.

Further arrest warrants have been issued for four from Vancouver, all
of whom face charges of trafficking in a controlled substance:
Granger Vowel, 28, one count; Kathleen Seguin, 35, eight counts;
Douglas Rutka, 28, one count; and Lauren Marsden, 27, four counts.

A total of 41 charges have been forwarded and further charges are expected.

Const. Marlene Morton of the RCMP said in her experience it's unusual
for so many females to be involved in alleged dial-a-dope action.