VERBAL JABS FOLLOW RAID

Compassion Club shuttered as RCMP raid shop, arrest owner

An angry crowd hurled verbal abuse at the RCMP Tuesday as officers
arrested the owner of the city's only marijuana compassion club.

Carl Anderson was dragged away by two officers around 1:30 p.m.,
after he refused to move away from the door of his store at 405
Tranquille Rd. Anderson was sitting calmly on the ground with his
back against the door at the time.

As Anderson sat outside, members of the Kamloops RCMP's drug section
were inside the store, boxing up marijuana and other exhibits seized
as part of the court-approved raid. Officers executed search warrants
at the store around 10:30 a.m.

Anderson didn't move when told by police he must move, and did
nothing to aid or resist when put under arrest for obstruction. Two
Mounties pulled the six-foot six-inch man by the scruff of his jacket
- -- his arms were handcuffed behind him -- to a waiting police car,
dragging him all the way. He was taken to the RCMP cells.

As police pulled Anderson away, a crowd of about 20 people -- most of
them customers of Anderson's store -- yelled angry profanities
denouncing the RCMP's actions. Many filmed or photographed the scene
with cell phones.

A second woman was arrested a few minutes after Anderson was arrested
after she tried to block an RCMP vehicle as it approached the front
of the store. The crowd yelled out that the woman had been hit by the
police SUV. She showed no sign of injury and walked to a police vehicle.

Approached by The Daily News shortly before his arrest, Anderson
refused to comment on the situation or the RCMP's actions.

Police seized business records, computers, and drugs. The drugs
included more than three pounds of dry marijuana, marijuana oil,
hash, baked goods containing marijuana product and marijuana lemonade
and ice tea in pre-packaged bottles, RCMP said in a press release.

Also on the premises, police found about 50 marijuana plants growing
under fluorescent lighting in a sophisticated laboratory room used to
process marijuana from a vegetative state into hash and hash oil. The
plants were in an early growth stage and varied in size from
seedlings to approximately four inches in height.

Earlier in the day, shortly after the RCMP arrived, several customers
milled around the store's front doors and questioned what was going on.

Wesley Jenkins became agitated as he faced the prospect of seeing the
outlet where he buys his medical marijuana closed, even for a short
while. He is licensed by Health Canada to possess marijuana.

"It means I have to go to the street and get my weed, I don't want to
buy (it) from the underworld. I remember getting marijuana laced with
crystal meth," he said. "We need our medication."

Gary Ham also expressed concerns about the happenings inside the
store, noting he needs marijuana for a variety of ailments.

"I am with Carl on this. We are all here for Carl," he said.

Anderson opened the doors to his compassion club earlier this year.
Inside the small storefront, Anderson sold a variety of strains of
marijuana for about $175 an ounce, only to those with a Health Canada
permit. Anderson also tested his products on site, to ensure THC
levels and organic purity.

The RCMP have consistently maintained their view Anderson's operation
violates Canada's drug laws, noting the man has no authority to sell
drugs to others, despite his seemingly good intentions.

Supt. Yves Lacasse said police had little choice but to raid the
shop, as Anderson openly did business in the centre of the North
Shore's business district.

"It was a gathering of intelligence over a period of time. We knew at
some point actions would be taken," he said. "We do believe what he
is doing is wrong, is criminal, is trafficking drugs."

Lacasse said the investigators will review the materials and exhibits
seized Tuesday. Charges of possession of marijuana for the purpose of
trafficking are pending against the owner.

"What we saw was a business operation. Maybe Carl was just trying to
make a point. He might have been trying to push the issue and fight a
cause. If that is what he is trying to do, he is going about it the wrong way."

Lacasse said he has sympathy for those who have a medical permit to
use marijuana, but urged them to find legal sources of the drug.

"I am sympathetic, some of these people do need this to live without
pain," he said. "We understand that here. But I think Carl is trying
to use this as an avenue to advance his cause."

Bob Hughes, the executive director of the nearby Ask Wellness Centre,
said many of his centre's clients were customers at the compassion
club. He felt it provided necessary service.

"You have physicians who prescribe this, it is a given. It should be
accepted that people use this for medical purposes. If the medical
community endorses it, what's the problem?" he said.

Hughes said the fact this afternoon's search and arrest turned nasty
is "a testament to the great divide between the laws of cannabis and
the reality of it."

"The whole concept of people being able to access pure medical grade
marijuana . . . is something that should be endorsed."

Meanwhile, Rod Harris, one of the shop's regular customers, wonders
where he will get his drugs now that Anderson's shop is closed.

"I have nowhere to buy my medicine from," he said. "It would be nice
to have a (local) place to buy it."

Anderson remained in police custody late in the day Tuesday. Staff
Sgt. Grant Learned said police intended to release Anderson but it
was unclear whether he would agree to conditions.