ACCUSED MOUNTS MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEFENCE

Hainesville Man Had Prescription but No Licence

In what could be a first in New Brunswick, a Hainesville man is
fighting a drug possession charge on the basis of a medical
certificate.

Todd Terrance LeClair was charged with possessing marijuana after a
police search of his residence Oct. 19.

But LeClair is arguing he's been allowed to possess the narcotic after
receiving a doctor's prescription on March 1, 2009.

On trial for the possession charge Friday, LeClair said he'd received
his medical marijuana licence on Jan. 13.

That licence permitted him to store 1,500 grams in his home and carry
120 grams on his person.

RCMP Cpl. Andy Munro told the court he'd led the search of LeClair's
residence in October and found 1,515.5 grams of marijuana in various
locations through the house.

Munro told the court the accused had shown him a prescription for
medical marijuana at the time of the search.

The officer said two grams of the marijuana were sent to the RCMP drug
lab in Winnipeg to verify it was, in fact, marijuana.

Munro testified that after the results came back, he served LeClair on
April 9 with notice of intention to pursue the charge, as well as the
certificate of analysis.

Munro admitted the original notice had an incorrect offence date on
it.

He said he served LeClair again on July 5, this time with the correct
information.

He said LeClair took the second set of documents and threw them on the
floor.

LeClair's defence is based on the notion he was allowed to have the
marijuana as long as he had the doctor's prescription.

He said his doctor had told him as long as he had the prescription, he
was exempt from prosecution.

"Nobody told me I wasn't ready to go," LeClair said.

He testified he'd been taking painkillers since a motorcycle accident
in 1987.

After falling off a dump truck in 2008, he said, a friend let him try
some marijuana and it seemed to help his condition.

He said he got the prescription after mentioning to a doctor the drug
had helped his pain.

When it was suggested to him the prescription was only to obtain the
possession licence, LeClair said no one told him he needed the licence
and nobody could explain the lengthy delay in receiving the licence.

LeClair said he believed the police had stolen his medicine and caused
him undue hardship as a result.

He had tried to have the charge thrown out, but Court of Queen's Bench
Justice Terrence Morrison rejected the application July 9 after
deciding the matter was best left to the trial judge.

The defence called several witnesses who testified as to delays in the
process of receiving a licence from Health Canada, although none had
waited as long as LeClair.

Christian Pelletier told the court he'd applied in June after his
doctor wrote him a prescription.

Pelletier said he suffered from migraines, anxiety, depression and
attention deficit disorder.

Pelletier said marijuana helps control the symptoms of those
conditions.

He said he hasn't been told how to fill his prescription, other than
to apply for the licence.

He said he'd been pulled over by an RCMP officer in Plaster Rock
recently while he had a small amount of marijuana. He said he showed
the officer his prescription but was told it was "no good."

Pelletier said the officer burned the marijuana, even though Pelletier
was asking to be charged so the marijuana might be returned.

Another witness, Tim Murphy, said he'd experienced delays in getting
his card.

Murphy said the process takes so long it leaves people exposed to
prosecution in the meantime.

Crown prosecutor Leonard Mackay said he'd like the opportunity to call
his own witnesses to testify about the Health Canada process.

The matter will resume in provincial court Oct. 14.