JAIL'S NO PLACE FOR POT GROWER, JUDGE RULES

Crown Wanted Prison, But Man Gets Conditional Sentence Instead

A judge disputed the value of imprisoning a marijuana grower Thursday and
handed him a conditional sentence.

"I question rhetorically what is the benefit of sending him to the
penitentiary for two or three years?" Justice Felix Cacchione said before
sentencing John Ross Hollingsworth of Centre Rawdon, Hants County.

"He comes out without a job . . . after spending time with people who do
have a criminal propensity," said the Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge.

Crown attorney James Martin wanted prison time for Mr. Hollingsworth,
46, who pleaded guilty to a charge of producing marijuana and one of
possession between July 1, 1999 and Feb. 27, 2000.

Mr. Hollingsworth will be under house arrest for the first six months of
the conditional term during which he can only leave home to go to work,
attend medical appointments, do banking and go grocery shopping.

Then he'll be on probation for 18 months with orders not to contact anyone
with a criminal or drug-related record, remain in Nova Scotia and not use
drugs.

Mr. Martin said Mr. Hollingsworth's participation in a sophisticated
marijuana operation was discovered after the RCMP investigated the
activities of a group of about six people in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland
over several months.

As a result, Mr. Hollingsworth's home was searched and police found
40-50 marijuana plants.

"This was not five plants in a pot," Mr. Martin said, stressing the money
required to maintain a "sophisticated growing operation" with lights, water
systems, plastic barriers and fencing.

In requesting the conditional sentence, defence lawyer Warren Zimmer said
his client wasn't a danger to the community because he's been working
almost all his life and is trained in engine repair.

"He got in trouble late in life as a result of bad judgment and bad decisions."

His introduction to growing marijuana cultivation came from his then
common-law wife, who played a larger role in the operation, Mr. Zimmer said.

Quoting case law, he said nothing would be gained by sending his client to
jail.

Mr. Hollingsworth told the judge he's trying to straighten out his life.

"I look back on what I done and I've made some bad decisions. But I don't
believe you will see me back in this courtroom again."

Earlier this year, a co-accused in the case, James Stewart McCurdy, 41, of
Mount Uniacke, pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to possess
marijuana for trafficking and received an 18-month conditional sentence.

A third co-accused, Ian David Murray of Oxford Street, Halifax, pleaded
guilty in January to conspiracy to traffic in hashish between Nova Scotia
and Newfoundland and was sentenced to three years in prison.

A fourth man had his sentencing put over Thursday. Michael Ronald Patriquen
of Middle Sackville pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to possess
marijuana in Nova Scotia and conspiracy to traffic in marijuana here and in
Newfoundland.

A charter argument relating to Mr. Patriquen smoking marijuana in jail will
be heard Sept. 5.

Mr. Patriquen has been a leader in the fight for legalizing marijuana. A
key member of the Marijuana Party of Canada, his Bedford company, Med
Marijuana Inc., is soliciting dealers for a food supplement made from
marijuana seeds. The charges he faces aren't connected with his company.

Mr. Patriquen and his wife, Melanie Stephen, also face proceeds-of-crime
charges.