COURT FREES TWO IN CATCH-22 POT CASE

TORONTO - Last year, Canada became the first country in the world to
legalize medical marijuana.

But with no legal supply of the drug, a Quebec court has decided to
throw out charges against two men who provided pot to several dozen
members of their Compassion Club - Quebec's first supplier of medical
marijuana.

Quebec Superior Court Judge Gilles Cadieux stopped short of declaring
Canada's anti-marijuana laws unconstitutional, but in ending the
prosecution of the two men, he said the current laws violate the
constitutional rights of people with serious medical conditions who
can be helped by the drug.

The case hinged on access to marijuana for several hundred Canadians
who have received permission from the federal government to use the
drug but have no legal means of obtaining it.

As a result, in 1999, Marc-Boris St. Maurice and Alexandre Neron
opened their Compassion Club to sell marijuana to people with proper
legal papers. But in fall 2000, police raided the club and seized a
little more than 2 ounces of marijuana.

While relieved by the court ruling, St. Maurice said the decision to
toss out the charges against the club "does nothing" to help the many
Canadians who need the drug and cannot get it legally.

As a result, St. Maurice, who is also leader of the Marijuana Party of
Canada, said he is launching a marijuana-by-mail service through the
Internet to provide medical marijuana to Canadians at large.

To purchase therapeutic grade marijuana from the new Web site,
customers must:

Obtain a doctor's letter diagnosing them with one of more than 200
ailments listed on the Web site.

Be a Canadian citizen over 18.

Reside in Canada.

But Canada Post spokeswoman Louise Roy warned that "anything illegal
under (Canada's) Criminal Code" cannot be sent through the mail and
that police would be notified if the packages of pot were discovered.