GRANNY GETS OFF ON POT CHARGE

Absolute Discharge

A 70-YEAR-OLD woman who was arrested last summer for smoking marijuana in a
public place yesterday received an absolute discharge in Hamilton. Jean
Cooper, a mother of six, grandmother of eight and great-grandmother of one,
pleaded guilty to the charge of possessing less than 30 grams of pot.
Cooper said later she wasn't surprised about the way the case turned out.
She said any judge with a lick of sense and an ounce of compassion would
have done the same.

The senior was arrested on Aug. 30 after three uniformed officers walked
into Up In Smoke Cafe, a weed-friendly shop where patrons openly smoke
marijuana.

Federal drug prosecutor Jeffrey Levy said Cooper told police she had a
doctor's note permitting her to smoke marijuana for medical reasons.
However, she later acknowledged that did not have a legal exemption because
she had never applied to Health Canada.

Ontario Court Justice Richard Jennis said the woman's age, health and early
guilty plea were all reasons to grant an absolute discharge.