POT PROMOTER HOPES TO WIN OVER DRAGONS

Past Pitches Have Been Rejected

VICTORIA -- A city man may soon learn if there's smoke where there's
fire.

Ian Layfield, an entrepreneur of mail-order marijuana, is in Toronto
this week to pitch his product to the the sharp-toothed judges on the
CBC's Dragon's Den. There, he hopes the show's panel of successful
business people will like his idea of distributing medicinal marijuana
via the mail, and want to invest in it.

Layfield, who said he uses the locally grown marijuana daily to treat
arthritis, will pitch his idea tomorrow.

"I think we have a very viable company and we would benefit from
having at least one of the Dragon's partners with us to make sure this
company becomes the success we all want it to be," he said.

Layfield launched the company, Canada's Medicinal Marihuana Store,
last November to distribute products to people registered with Health
Canada to legally use the substance.

He admits he never planned to be on the TV show. He said he went to an
audition in April at the University of Victoria to help a friend, but
while he was there, he read over the forms and decided his idea might
have potential.

He had his work cut out for him.

"The person doing the interview kind of laughed and said there wasn't
much of a chance of me being able to get on [because] the Dragons just
don't go for marijuana," he said.

But he added he hopes to change that.

Unlike past pot-related pitches on Dragon's Den, Layfield said he's
been working with Health Canada to ensure that his company remains on
the right side of the law.