REEFER JUSTICE

The ruling in the cases of Boris St-Maurice and Alex Neron, the
pot-heads-cum-politicos arrested in the Montreal Compassion Club
raid, will be delivered next Tuesday afternoon after almost two years
before the courts. The non-profit Compassion Club, on Rachel and
Mentana (and almost directly across the street from station 38),
distributes medical marijuana to patients with doctors notes, and
survives largely on the efforts of its volunteer workers.

St-Maurice, the Quebec chieftain of the federal Marijuana Party, says
the charges of trafficking of controlled substances he and Neron face
are inconsistent with Canada's much-trumpeted easing of medical
marijuana restrictions. "The irony of it all is that [since the bust]
the federal government has yet to deliver a teeny tiny gram to
anyone. And since the bust the Compassion Club has gone through a
complete cycle, giving out several ounces a week. We were doing
exactly what the federal government was planning to do except more
expediently."

St-Maurice also expressed his happy surprise with the sympathy his
cause has found in the mainstream media. He says many editorialists
have come out on side of liberalizing marijuana laws, as has the
president of the Canadian Medical Association.

Still, the law is the law, and he and Neron face the music next week.
Asked what he expects at his upcoming appearance at the Palais de
Justice, he says, "Ask me Tuesday afternoon."