PHONE CALL LEAVES TENANT OUT IN COLD

Officials Won't Back Double-Amputee Pot-User's Fight To Keep Home

Marilyn Holsten's hopes of keeping her Vancouver apartment have gone
up in smoke.

Holsten, a 49-year-old diabetic and double-leg amputee, has been
battling her landlord since April 2008 over her right to smoke
medicinal marijuana in her home.

At a B.C. Residential Tenancy Branch arbitration hearing June 29,
Holsten's bid to keep her home was denied. She must vacate her
apartment -- where she has lived for the past decade -- by Sept. 30.

"They say it's a non-biased thing, the arbitration, but they wouldn't
let me or my lawyer get a word in edgewise," Holsten said yesterday.

"Right from the get-go, I knew I was going to lose."

The Anavets Senior Citizens Housing Society, which runs Holsten's
apartment building in the 900-block East 8th Avenue, is evicting her
on grounds that her marijuana use pollutes air in the building.

The society could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Holsten is in a wheelchair. She said she uses the drug to manage her
pain levels. Since her last eviction notice, she has obtained Health
Canada's authorization to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, which
protects her from prosecution. She also uses a vaporizer for her pot,
so the smell will not bother others.

None of this, she said, was taken into consideration during the
arbitration hearing, which was conducted over the phone.

Calls to the tenancy branch yesterday were not returned.

Kirk Tousaw, who represents Holsten, said he was "disappointed" by how
the proceedings went.

"She is being discriminated against by her landlord because of her
disability and her choice of medicine."

Tousaw said he and Holsten are considering taking the case to court or
filing a human-rights complaint.

Holsten, who spends five afternoons a week in dialysis, said she does
not have friends or family who can support her if she cannot find a
new place to live.

There are 150 people on B.C. Housing's wait-list for
wheelchair-accessible accommodation in the Metro Vancouver area.

She said she is counting on B.C. Housing's help, but is worried she
might be left out in the cold because of her marijuana use.

B.C. Housing does not admit people who engage in criminal activity,
including drug use.

The stress of the situation has caused Holsten to lose 15 pounds in
three weeks. She now weighs less than 90 pounds.

"This [situation] could kill me," she said. "I have to fight."