EQUIPMENT RETURNED BROKEN, MEDICAL MARIJUANA USER SAYS

Les Petherick's net income is $1,100 a month and he has to come up
with $300 to replace equipment that he says worked fine the last time
he saw it.

Petherick has a medical-marijuana card and is legally allowed to grow
marijuana but the card was expired when police raided his home last
year, leading to charges.

His charges were stayed Oct. 13 and he got his marijuana grow-op
equipment back from city police around Nov. 29.

The problem is that sometime between the raid and seizure of his
marijuana and grow-op equipment, the equipment stopped working. He's
not sure if it's the bulb or the ballast.

"I don't have that kind of money to start over again," said
Petherick, who uses food banks.

"I have no meds, I lay on the couch. It kind of sucks really, what
can you do?" he said Monday.

Petherick said he hasn't told police that there's a problem because
"they wouldn't do nothing anyway."

He feels police should reimburse him for the broken equipment and the
marijuana that was taken.

City police officials told The Examiner on Friday that if police are
responsible for damaging items they've seized or damage done to a
home, "nine times out of 10" they would foot the bill.

Insp. Tim Farquharson said Petherick should contact police.

Petherick was charged Sept. 1 with production of a controlled
substance and possession of a controlled substance after police
raided the Barnardo Ave. house where he rents a room.

His medical marijuana card was expired at the time.

Petherick said Health Canada told him he would be fine if he just
held onto his expired card.

Turns out that didn't happen.

Farquharson said officers in the police's drug unit know what the
cards look like and know how to check if they've expired.

Police also reiterated Friday that medical marijuana cards have an
expiry date, just like a driver's licence. If a driver's licence is
expired, that means it's illegal for someone to drive.

While Petherick no longer has to appear in court on drug charges, the
Crown only stayed the charges meaning they can be reactivated within
a year. The Crown never stated why the charges were stayed.

Once the year is up, the charges are dropped.

If a charge is withdrawn, it immediately no longer exists.

NOTE: Les Petherick was also charged Sept. 1 with setting a trap
likely to cause bodily harm. Police said they found several wooden
boards with nails sticking through them strategically placed along
the property's backyard fence line. Petherick said the charge is
ludicrous and a carpenter had recently been testing a malfunctioning
nail gun. His next court appearance for that charge is Jan. 18.