COURT GIVES MEDICAL POT CRUSADER A BREAK

A jubilant Phillipe Lucas departed Victoria provincial court July 5, after
being given a complete discharge on charges of marijuana trafficking and
possession.

Lucas is the founder and director of the Vancouver Island Compassion
Society (VICS), a registered non-profit society that has been supplying
medical marijuana to 230 members who suffer from a variety of medical
ailments since October, 1999.

The charges of drug trafficking and possession were laid against Lucas in
November 2000, following a police bust at VICS' then offices on Bowker
Avenue in Oak Bay. The VICS is still in operation, but has since moved its
headquarters to an undisclosed location on the edge of the downtown area.

Following an 18-month-long trial, Judge Robert Higinbotham decided to rule
in favour of Lucas because: his actions were life-enhancing and for the
good of society; he frankly acknowledged his legal culpability; he has
contributed to the knowledge base surrounding the use of medicinal
marijuana; he committed the offence with the knowledge and `tacit approval'
of the police; he did not operate in competition with the federal Ministry
of Health; he chose to commit the offence in a manner that provided
accountability; and he took steps to ensure there was no redistribution of
marijuana by members.

`I find that while there is no doubt that Mr. Lucas offended against the
law by providing marijuana to others, his actions were intended to
ameliorate the suffering of others,' Higinbotham said in his ruling.

Crown Counsel Lori McMorran had appealed to Higinbotham to fine Lucas and
sentence him to a period of probation, on the grounds that his actions were
of a commercial nature and placed the community at risk.

Higinbotham refuted this, stating that Lucas' business was not truly
commercial.

`Profit was not the motive,' said Higinbotham about why he denied her
appeal. `Nor can she sustain the argument that the community was put at risk.'

If Lucas re-offends, said Higginbotham, he will have to argue his case
again and noted that a discharge may be `difficult to attain in the
future'. It is for this reason, he added, that this `thorny issue' must be
resolved quickly =8B either by Parliament or the Supreme Court of Canada.

The maximum penalty for Lucas' charges, if he'd been convicted, is
imprisonment for five years less a day.

Outside court, Lucas commented that he was `extremely relieved and pleased'
with Higinbotham's ruling.

`I think that anything else would have been a real breach of justice,' he said.

Lucas, who recently married, said he will continue his work with the VICS
and is also considering running in the next Victoria municipal election for
the Green Party.

`This ruling allows us to start our lives,' he said.

Through tears of joy and relief, his wife Mary Lucas said, `We're happy
that the judgement seems to be in line with public opinion on this matter.'

Lucas' lawyer John Conroy said the ruling will set a precedent for similar
cases.

`I see this ruling as a message to police and government that the courts
are not going to punish people who do things to reduce harm to others,' he
said.