POT HEAD BUSTED

Mounties find stash in home

The president of the Marijuana Party of Alberta is facing drug charges
after Mounties raided his home in Fort McMurray this week.

But the former Marijuana party candidate for Athabasca in the 2000 federal
election, and the former Fort McMurray mayoral candidate in November, said
he's not worried about going to jail, and won't hire a lawyer.

"Providing medicine to people is not wrong," Reginald David Normore said
yesterday from Fort McMurray, 437 km northeast of Edmonton.

RCMP said cops seized about 413 grams of marijuana, a small amount of
marijuana oil, $6,730 in cash, and drug-trafficking paraphernalia when
executing a search warrant at Normore's apartment early Thursday morning.

Police estimate the street value of the drugs seized to be $5,900.

Normore, 33, faces charges of possessing a controlled substance for the
purpose of trafficking, and possessing the proceeds of crime.

He told the Sun he smokes pot to ease pain in both his arms, caused by
ripped tendons. Normore said he was injured about three years ago while
working at a plywood plant in British Columbia, and was getting disability
benefits until they expired.

"Even doing the simplest task, my arms get sore," he said. "I decided I was
going to smoke marijuana for my pain, and I didn't care who knew I smoked it."

Normore added that he has given the weed away to at least one terminally
ill woman, and has sold it to others who need it to fend off chronic pain.

"I just got sick and tired of having to look for it. I had to support
myself somehow, and plus I could help people along the same lines."

He does not ask for medical evidence of illnesses, and plans to argue in
court that pot is not actually illegal.

The leader of the Marijuana Party of Alberta was surprised to hear Normore
had been arrested, but said the president will have his party's full support.

"I'm sure that we will be summoning the resources of the party to help Reg
with this," said Ken Kirk, who just opened a pot paraphernalia store at
10253 97 St. in Edmonton.

Kirk said he's sorry Normore's facing charges, but he's confident the party
will use the case to boost its profile.

"I know that he's going to use the opportunity to fight the laws in court.
In a way, whenever an activist like Reg gets busted, it's almost like
victory day for us," said Kirk.

"We're going to change the laws with this one. Reg isn't going to sit down,
he's going to fight it."

Police have also charged Elizabeth Sarah Bainbridge, 22, and Genevieve
Cecillia Hiscock, 20, with possession of a controlled substance.

Normore said the two women are his roommates.