POT GROWER CAN KEEP HER HOME, TOP COURT RULES

Supreme Court Overturns an Appeal Court Ruling That a North Vancouver
Home Be Forfeited Because It Was Used As a Marijuana-Growing Operation

The Supreme Court of Canada spared a North Vancouver woman Friday from
losing her home in a ruling that found the B.C. Court of Appeal was
wrong to order that the two-storey dwelling be seized because it was
used as a marijuana-growing operation.

"The appeal should be allowed and the forfeiture order set aside,"
wrote Justice Rosalie Abella.

The ruling was one of three decisions involving Canadians -- two from
B.C. and one from Quebec -- who challenged the seizure of homes that
were used to grow pot, a penalty that is increasingly levied following
changes seven years ago to federal drug laws to mandate confiscation
of "offence-related property."

Judy Ann Craig, 57, was a seasoned gardener who began growing
marijuana to help pull her out of an emotional slump after her
divorce. She successfully convinced the court that being forced to
forfeit her North Vancouver home at 435 Alder St. was extreme
punishment for her crime.

Craig's lawyer argued Craig ran a relatively small-scale operation in
her basement, so should not warrant the same harsh penalties imposed
for sophisticated operations controlled by organized crime.

In 2003, police seized 186 marijuana plants in her home, as well as
two kilograms of pot in her car, worth a combined estimated street
value of $87,500. Police also found cash totalling $22,275.

Tax documents seized by police revealed Craig was making between
$105,000 and $122,500 from seven crops of about 80 plants each year.

Craig claimed expenses for hiring help, as well as almost $30,000 in
costs associated with starting up her marijuana operation, including
home renovations that involved a hidden entrance leading from the
basement to the shed.

She received a conditional sentence and a $100,000 fine, but since she
had no other assets and owed $250,000 in unpaid taxes from her
ill-gotten earnings, the court ordered the forfeiture of her small
home. It was valued at $460,000 at the time of her 2005 sentencing and
now is now worth more than $700,000.

Craig testified in court she started growing marijuana in 1998 because
she was depressed from her divorce several years earlier and "I needed
a challenge to kick-start me out of this state."

She said she used her earnings to beautify her clematis-enveloped
garden that was featured in a 2002 edition of Gardens West magazine.

In 2007, B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Catherine Ryan upheld Craig's
12-month conditional sentence and house forfeiture, but set aside the
$100,000 fine.

Ryan noted that Craig, a university graduate and former real estate
agent, had ample resources to pursue a legitimate career.

Craig's lawyer, Howard Rubin, said his client now is a travelling
saleswoman who was working out of town Friday. He said she was happy
with the ruling.

He said Craig sold pot to friends, people with AIDS and "Crown
prosecutors." The lawyer added: "If you think some Crown prosecutors
and judges don't smoke pot, you're naive."

Parliament amended the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in 2002 to
mandate seizure to reflect society's "abhorrence" for the social
problems associated with the drug trade. The law allows discretion for
a judge if he or she believes the punishment does not fit the crime.

In two other decisions Friday, the court dismissed the appeals of Kien
Tam Nguyen, who was ordered to forfeit his Surrey home after he was
found guilty of running a marijuana grow operation, and Yves
Ouellette, who unsuccessfully challenged a Quebec Court of Appeal
decision ordering the partial forfeiture of his home.