POT FACTORY SPROUTS TWO NEW LOCATIONS IN NEW WESTMINSTER

The Marijuana Factory has opened two more secret, and apparently legal, pot
growing locations in the Royal City.

Michael Maniotis, director of the Merlin Project, made the statement
Wednesday, during a tour of his group's first facility, which opened in
Queensborough last fall.

"We have another six locations, including two more in New Westminster,"
Maniotis said. "We're not revealing where those locations are but, let me
tell you, they're closer to where the police are located than what they
would like."

According to Maniotis, the group currently has about 350 marijuana plants
in varying stages of production at its seven grow sites.

Insp. Dave Jones of the New Westminster police services said his office is
currently monitoring the grow operations they know about to ensure they
follow the new guidelines.

"They appear to be following the regulations," Jones said Thursday.
"However, there is also an issue with the regulations."

Jones said the police are currently waiting to see the impact of a Jan. 9,
2003 Ontario Superior Court ruling to strike down the federal marijuana laws.

"For us, this is a whole new area and a whole new era of regulations in
law," said Jones.

"We kind of have to take a ride for a while to see where this goes."

But while the Marijuana Factory appears to be on safe ground for the time
being, it has not always been that way.

Maniotis is scheduled to go to court on March 12 to answer charges of
possession for the purpose of trafficking that were laid after a police
raid on his former Radical IRS offices in Vancouver two years ago.

In June, Yoram Adler will join Maniotis in court in a preliminary hearing
over further charges that were laid last year in another raid on another
Vancouver operation.

Both Maniotis and Adler are confident all charges will be dismissed.