DOC GETS ONE-YEAR SENTENCE FOR GROWING POT

A Richmond man accused of trafficking in marijuana says he is a scientist,
not a criminal.

"It was about discovery. It was never about money," said Paul Hornby of the
illegal crop he was growing in his backyard greenhouse until his arrest last
year.

But, on Tuesday, a provincial court judge disagreed, sentencing the
50-year-old Hornby, who holds a doctorate in human pathology, to a one-year
jail term to be served in the community, with house arrest for the first
three months.

That sentence could have been longer, warned Judge E.J. McKinnon in her
ruling before the Richmond provincial court.

But, she added, "I deliberately have confined you to your residence for only
three months because, despite the aggravating factors... you were involved
with (marijuana) production for the Compassion Club."

He was also fined $1,500.

Hornby was first arrested on the pot charges last April.

At that time, police found a "large and sophisticated" grow operation in the
greenhouse on his three-acre east Richmond property. Several kilograms of
harvested marijuana, as well as 43 grown plants and 1,500 clones were seized
in the raid.

An expert police witness told the court at an earlier hearing the entire
operation was worth up to $2.5 million on the street. But Hornby maintained
he was growing the plants at a financial loss for the benefit of the B.C.
Compassion Club, a nonprofit organization that provides medicinal marijuana
to the sick and dying.

Hornby testified earlier he was doing research on the plants to determine
which strains were best to ease the chronic pain of those suffering from
diseases like AIDS.

His lawyer, John Conroy, had argued for an absolute or conditional discharge
for his client.

But the judge found too many strikes against Hornby.

In particular, "I find Dr. Hornby was highly motivated by financial gain,"
she said Tuesday, citing the size of the crop and potential benefits to
Hornby's private herbal company.

Judge McKinnon said the case was further aggravated by the discovery of an
unloaded shotgun and switchblade in the house, as well as a second
production charge levelled against Hornby in August while he was on bail.

The judge also cited Hornby's flagrant disregard of a Health Canada permit
that allowed his Vancouver-based laboratory to test - though not grow -
strains of marijuana puts the entire federal process of decriminalizing
marijuana for medical reasons in jeopardy.

Outside the courthouse Tuesday, Hornby vowed to reapply to the federal
government in order to be granted a licence to test and grow medicinal
marijuana.