'GET OUT OF JAIL' WEBSITE A TOKIN' EFFORT

Marijuana activist Raymond Turmel is vowing to help free everyone convicted
of cannabis-related charges this summer.

Turmel, who was recently convicted of trafficking marijuana, was released
from jail on July 3 after serving only 13 days of an 18-month sentence
pending the outcome of an appeal.

The 49-year-old Gatineau resident was convicted last December of
cultivation and possession for the purposes of trafficking and sentenced to
18 months in jail. An appeal has once again made him a free man.

Turmel, who argued that he grew and trafficked the drug for medicinal
purposes, initially fought his case on a constitutional challenge.

At the time, he argued that denying him the right to grow and distribute
marijuana for medicinal purposes denied his Charter right to social security.

Judge Jean-Pierre Plouffe rejected the argument, given that Turmel is not
sick. That decision has since gone to appeal.

'HOPING TO EMPTY JAILS'

On Monday, Turmel posted a "get-out-of-jail" kit on his website based on
his own experiences. He believes his fate should extend to everyone
convicted of some form of cannabis charge.

"I'm hoping to empty the jails over summer of anybody charged with cannabis
offences," he said yesterday.

But Gatineau Crown attorney Anouk Desaulniers said filling out the forms at
www.medpot.net would be a waste of time. For starters, she said, an attempt
at an appeal must be accepted by a court of appeal on a case-by-case basis,
not right across the spectrum. The individual has 30 days to file the
appeal from the time of the conviction.