MEDICINAL POT SEIZED IN RAID

An RCMP bust of an East Sooke marijuana grow-op has deprived almost 400
peopleof the medicinal pot they desperately need, according to the president
of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society.

Phillippe Lucas said the Victoria-based society's 399 members, who are
battling critical and chronic illnesses, are now forced to look to the black
market for their marijuana.

"It is an incredible shock to all of us," Lucas said of the Thursday
afternoon bust. "It was the best and safest supply in Western Canada."

West Shore RCMP members seized more than 900 plants from a house and an
outbuilding on the same property in the 5000-block of Mt. Matheson Road
Thursday, said Cpl. Brian Kerr of the detachment's street crime unit in a
Friday interview. RCMP arrested a pair of men on the property for production
of cannabis and for possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of
trafficking.

Both men are expected to appear in court this summer, Kerr said. Their names
have not been released.

However, Lucas is seeking to have the Crown prosecutors drop the charges
against the two men because the marijuana was being grown for medical
purposes. The president identified the two men as being the paid caretaker
of the facility, which is known as the Vancouver Island Therapeutic Cannabis
Research Institute, and a friend who dropped by. The facility was a
lab-style operation and was very clearly marked by signs as an operation of
the compassion society, Lucas said.

Kerr described the operation as "very sophisticated" and noted that "a lot
of time and money went into it." He said it is one of the largest he's seen
in his 20 years in this kind of work.

The society's president was in contact via phone with Kerr several times
during Thursday's operation, Lucas said. He alleges the RCMP were trying to
clarify with Health Canada how many plants could legally be grown, but this
could not be accomplished because the offices in Ottawa were closed.

Kerr could not be reached for comment Monday on the matter. Calls to the
West Shore RCMP were not returned by Monday's press deadline.

The facility had been operating for about 15 months and was licensed to have
70 plants, according to Lucas.

When asked why there were more than 900 plants on site, Lucas said they were
for research and to supply the society's members. There were 35 different
strains of marijuana, each cultivated to treat different medical conditions,
he said.

"Every gram that was produced by the facility was accounted for by the
compassion society," Lucas said. "Our entire goal was to do this in a way
that provided the safest and most secure supply and broke us away from the
(vagueness) of the black market."

Lucas would not speak about who actually owned the Mt. Matheson property,
but said he and the society were leasing it.

Though he would not say how much members were paying to acquire marijuana
from the facility, Lucas said the East Sooke operation caused a dramatic
drop in price. Now, Lucas said his organization must find black market
growers to supply its members, who are fighting such illnesses as cancer and
AIDS.

As well as the loss of supply and research, Lucas said the bust means the
society is using its energies in court and in justifying its work, rather
than serving its members.

Asked if the society would reestablish the research institute, Lucas said,
"The compassion society will do what we can for the members."

The information leading to the RCMP executing the search warrant last week
is sealed by court order, Kerr said.

The raid seems to have surprised Mt. Matheson Road neighbours, as one male
resident said he and others he has spoken to were not aware of the marijuana
growing operation. However, now that people know about it, he is concerned
for the neighbourhood's safety. He worries people trying to rip off grow-ops
might endanger the children living nearby.