WOMAN CAMPS AT COURTHOUSE AFTER EVICTION

She says her medicinal marijuana got her locked out of her
home

A St. Catharines woman who uses medical marijuana says she'll live in
front of the Robert SK Welch Courthouse until her doors are unlocked
again.

The St. Catharines woman has been living in front of the courthouse
all week, claiming the city locked her out of her apartment for
possessing weed, despite having a permit for it. After two nights
sleeping on a bench in the open, Kelly Kirby, who smokes pot to
relieve the pain of a bad back, said she's sticking around until she
can go home.

But the city said they locked the doors based on information from
police because the apartment was deemed unsafe for living in.

" I just want an answer right now," said Kirby, who is in her 40s. "
This is ( Prime Minister) Stephen Harper's law. This is his building.
I'm living in his building."

Kirby, her 18-year-old son and her apartment-mate, Terry Tout, who has
terminal cancer, were joined by a small, shifting group of supporters
in a vigil in front of the courthouse. The protest was on its third
dayThursday.

Piles of belongings were arranged in a shaded area, including a bench
made up like a bed. A few picket signs stood around Kirby's living
area, declaring her a legal pot smoker locked out of her apartment.

Kirby said she has a hotel room, but planned to stay in front of the
courthouse until her apartment is open to her.

City solicitor Nicole Auty confirmed the city issued an unsafe
building order last Friday, which barred anyone from occupying the
apartment.

"In light of concerns surrounding the property and the fact that there
were plants being grown in a particular room, the building department
issued those orders," she said. She said the information came from
police and that a building inspector did not go into the apartment.

She would not confirm exactly what was found in the apartment, but
said general safety issues from growing marijuana can include changes
to the structure of the apartment, mould, chemicals and modified
electrical wiring.

Angela Browne, one of Kirby's supporters, said Kirby came home to find
the lock on her door changed and a sign posted by the city declaring
the premises secured.

She said police took her marijuana a week prior.

An eviction notice from the apartment, she said, arrived
Wednesday.

" I guess someone didn't like the idea that she had pot plants, but
she's a legitimate user," she said.

Tout, 56, claimed there were about 180 marijuana seedlings in the
apartment, but only five or six plants.

Kirby said she's allowed to possess marijuana and showed a Standard
reporter a medicinal weed permit good until August. She said she
doesn't have a growing licence, but claimed her doctor told her to
cultivate her own crop.

Kirby tried to go to court, Browne said, but was told to come back for
a hearing in August.

Jeff Hutchison, senior property manager for Timbercreek Asset
Management, which runs Kirby's apartment, deferred comment to police.

Niagara Regional Police spokesman Const. Nilan Dave said the agency
couldn't comment on non-criminal cases due to privacy. But he said if
police find something noteworthy during an investigation, they pass it
on to the relevant agencies.

The eviction left supporters like Mike Thomas furious. Thomas, who
heads up pro-pot group Dads for Marijuana, said being locked out is
destroying Kirby's family.

"These people, they're going to separate if this doesn't (expletive)
end," he said.

He said the situation is especially rough on Kirby's son, who has
mental-health issues and is struggling with being out of his
environment.

"This is a crime against humanity. It's an injustice.

"Where's the empathy? Where's the compassion for our fellow human
beings?"