RAIDED 'COMPASSION CLUB' TO HOLD PROTEST

Rights Of Medical Marijuana Users Denied: Owner

The Queen Street East ''compassion club'' raided and picked clean by
police last week reopened yesterday, but it was selling only
politics, not marijuana.

Neev Tapiero, owner of Cannabis As Living Medicine (CALM), said its
current goal is to spread the word about a protest this Sunday
outside police headquarters over the government's medical marijuana
regulations.

''Health Canada's poorly run program ... results in thousands of
people's rights being denied,'' he said.

Plainclothes Toronto police officers raided the club last Wednesday
after receiving complaints of alleged drug offences. They seized
16,000 grams of marijuana, 1,940 grams of hash and 207 grams of hash
oil. They charged Mr. Tapiero and eight volunteers.

"When [police] conducted their investigation, they realized [CALM]
didn't have a licence to dispense drugs. Technically, that's
illegal," Constable Tony Vella said.

Health Canada spokesman Philippe Laroche said in an email that
"compassion clubs are unregulated and have always operated outside
Canadian laws. These clubs have no legal authority to provide or to
produce marijuana."

"As compassion clubs are not authorized to produce or sell marijuana
for medical purposes in Canada, their activities are subject to law
enforcement measures under the applicable legislation," Mr. Laroche said.

Mr. Tapiero said he has applied several times to Health Canada for
such a licence, but one covering medical marijuana dispensing does
not exist. Currently, those who qualify for a licence, including
sufferers of chronic pain, can get licences to grow or possess
marijuana, or they can designate someone to grow it for them.

Ron Marzel, CALM's lawyer, said compassion clubs are usually run by
those who have licences to possess marijuana.

"They've peacefully coexisted with the police," he said of CALM.

CALM client Joshua Dvorkin, 34, has epilepsy and a spinal cord injury
that has him using a wheelchair. Without marijuana, he said, he
suffers from pains in his hands and feet.

"I have a little bit left, not a lot.... I'll run out and I'll be in
pain," Mr. Dvorkin said. "There's no harm in CALM being in the
community. They're very responsible in the way they do things and
there's never been a problem."

CALM's protest will be held at Toronto police headquarters, at 40
College St., on Sunday at 1 p.m.