FAITH IN POT CAN'T SWAY JUDGE AT DRUG TRIAL

A man who put his faith in religion may have had better luck with a lawyer
after a judge didn't buy the argument that his marijuana and magic
mushrooms were "God-given" gifts used in church ceremonies.

"I make no dispute about the evidence before the court," Richard Friesen,
39, said of the drugs found in his basement laundry room. "It's all
God-given plants and part of my religious beliefs structure. My basement is
declared a church sanctuary.

"God put these plants and gave them to us as a gift. Man cannot force me to
comply with laws that go against my religious beliefs."

Friesen said he's been using marijuana since the age of 13 and that he's
never had any trouble until now.

But provincial court Judge Richard Chartier, finding Friesen guilty of
possessing marijuana, marijuana resin and psilocybin, or magic mushrooms,
said religious beliefs aren't a guard against criminal charges. He fined
Friesen -- who says he's taken a vow of poverty and has no money -- $500.

"Whatever your views on cannabis marijuana, it is illegal," Chartier said.
Friesen, who says he's a minister with the Assembly of the Church of the
Universe, made a number of other arguments about why he shouldn't be found
guilty.

He said the search warrant police used to enter his Ness Avenue home was
fraudulent because the name on it was "grammatically incorrect." Friesen
spells his name in "truth language," which uses colons and hyphens. He
asked that Chartier refer to him as "Richard" rather than the standard "Mr.
Friesen."

He said the police shouldn't have been allowed to barge into his home and
frighten his wife, who then had to call him away from the "performance of
(his) calling."

The court heard that on March 26, 2001, Winnipeg police executed a search
warrant at the home and found 490 grams of marijuana, .16 grams of
marijuana resin and 2.23 grams of mushrooms. Friesen had also been charged
with possession for the purpose of trafficking, but Crown attorney Stacy
Cawley didn't ask Chartier to find him guilty on that count.

Officers testified that the basement laundry room was covered with drugs
and drug paraphernalia, including plastic bags with residue, isopropyl
alcohol, scales, marijuana hidden in a piece of blue Lego, a bottle of
clear liquid labelled "Mexican water" and ice cream pails containing marijuana.