LEGAL MACHINATIONS IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA CASE GET EVER STRANGER

Under normal circumstances, we don't choose to devote two editorials
in a row to the same news story. Unfortunately, there is little that
qualifies as "normal" in the our justice system has gone after
"exemptees," the suffering people who are trying to comply with
Canada's new legal provision for medical marijuana use.

Since we reported last week on the police raid at the Cramahe growing
operation known as Lady Dyz Helping Hands, the conduct of our courts
and police forces in this case have gotten even more bizzare.

First, marijuana grower and exemptee Dianne Bruce was held for nine
days in an overcrowded Whitby jail, before the crown reluctantly
granted bail. Bruce was held in custody, even though she had been
perfectly open for months about her growing operation, and posed no
security risk. To make matters worse, Bruce, who suffers from
fibromyalgia and herniated discs, among other ailments, was without
her usual authorized medications for those nine days, and had to sleep
on the jail cell floor for six nights.

Now it appears that not only are the courts and police intent on
thwarting the spirit of Canada's medical marijuana provision, but they
may use their legal muscle to harass a newspaper, whose only offences
is to provide substantial coverage of this news development. At press
time, The Independant has been informed that the OPP is preparing a
search warrant, and plans to arrive at our offices on Thursday,
November 1. Acting on our own legal counsel, we had already informed
the OPP that we had taken care to retain all notes and photographs
pertinent to this story, and we would submit this information, and
answer any questions from the OPP, upon receipt of a subpoena. So we
see the execution of a search warrant as another heavy-handed action,
which challenges our integrity as community-minded
professionals.

We believe that police and courts have already wasted enough of
tax-payers' money in hounding the exemptees. We hope they will soon
switch their focus back to the provision of peace and security which
citizens have a right to expect.