cannabisnews.com: Drug Squad Raids Cramahe Farm Property Drug Squad Raids Cramahe Farm Property Posted by FoM on October 26, 2001 at 12:08:14 PT By Tom Philp, The Independent Source: Independent Online A local woman featured in a recent story about medical marijuana use sat in a Whitby jail last weekend after OPP drug squad officers raided her Cramahe Township home October 19. Late Friday afternoon officers from the Kawartha Combined Forces Drug Unit, accompanied by members of Northumberland Detachment OPP, arrested Dianne Bruce and her 18-year-old daughter Michelle after executing a search warrant on her Dundonald-area property. Dianne Bruce was remanded in custody pending her bail hearing in Cobourg on Monday. Michelle was released on her own recognizance, and allowed to return home. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Jerry Kresjola, Bruce's partner in the medical marijuana operation. All three have been charged with Production of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking. Bruce was featured in the October 10 edition of The Independent in a story about the medical use of marijuana. The feature included information about "exemptees," people approved by Health Canada to possess or grow marijuana, or to designate someone else to legally grow the plants for them under Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) regulations. The federal government passed amendments to Section 56 of those regulations on July 31 this year, outlining the rules for growing and possessing medical marijuana. Bruce's company, Lady Dyz Helping Hands, was producing marijuana according to those rules, she said during an earlier interview. Last Saturday Michelle Bruce phoned a reporter from The Independent to say police had seized marijuana, office equipment and a crossbow from her mother's house. Kresjola was not home when the raid took place, and she believed he was in hiding, she said. Later the same day Kresjola called The Independent to say he had "a gut feeling something was going to happen soon," and that he had removed most of the medical marijuana from the house before Friday. In a telephone interview Monday morning, OPP Sgt. Rick Barnum, who led the raid on the Bruce property, said this was a "black and white" case involving people who were growing marijuana illegally. "I think (the raid) was done very fairly, but there is no gray area here," Barnum said. "Nowhere in the (CDSA) regulations is there authority for one person to grow medical marijuana for another person." Barnum said Friday's police action was the result of "information, a complaint, that came to light three weeks ago," and took place only after "a lot of consultation with the federal crown attorney, the Ministry of Health, and others." "There was some information that we had to verify, and when it turned out to be false, that's when we decided to go execute a warrant at Dianne's place," he said. Barnum said that information did not involve Bruce's status as an exemptee under Section 56 of the CDSA regulations, but would not elaborate further. "We're not arguing that (Bruce) was growing marijuana for exemptees, or that a number of exemptees were counting on her to do so," Barnum said. "We have some sensitivity to their situation, but what Dianne was doing was illegal." "It comes down to the bottom line that no exemptee has authority to grow marijuana for anybody else, or to have somebody grow it for them," he said. Health Canada regulations provide for exemptees to designate someone else to grow the controversial herb with a license from the ministry. Under the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations, any exemptee "who wishes to have a Designated Person to grow for them" can apply with that designee for a license to produce marijuana someplace other than the exemptee's home. Aside from security precautions, and minimum distance separation requirements from other properties, the only other restriction is that non-resident growers "have not been convicted as an adult of a designated drug offence" either inside or outside Canada within the past 10 years. Although Kresjola was charged last year with a drug offence in Durham Region, neither he nor Bruce had a registered drug conviction at the time of the OPP raid. Bruce has made a formal application to be a designated grower. Health Canada spokesman Andrew Smith said his department has received applications from potential designated growers, but has not approved any to date. "I can't identify individuals, but the answer to your question is, Health Canada has not approved any licenses for designated people to grow marijuana for exemptees," Smith said. Alison Myrden, an exemptee from Burlington who has Multiple Sclerosis, is one of 40 exemptees who leased property from Bruce, and hired her to tend their medical marijuana crop. Police interpret regulations to suit their own beliefs about marijuana leading to harder drug use, she said. "I get very angry when police take our medicine away because they have decided our rules don't apply to them," Myrden said last Sunday. "Every grow I have been involved in, from B.C., to the Toronto area, to Dianne's, has been busted." "(Police) just don't get it. We are not recreational smokers (of marijuana); we are sick people," she said. Barnum estimated "about 40 pounds" of marijuana was seized from Lady Dyz, with a "street value" of $80,000. It is that "street" perception that bothers Myrden. "To the police the words 'growing marijuana' automatically means selling drugs on the street," she said. "The only street Dianne is supplying is the one with sick and dying people who just want some relief." Myrden said because most exemptees are "strain specific" it is necessary to find people who know how to cultivate different varieties of marijuana properly. Quite often these growers have had contact with the police because of a history of growing the plant. That makes them the "wrong" kind of people in police eyes, she said. "Even if you think that the people growing marijuana are not 'your' kind of people, we value them because they know how to grow our medicine," Myrden said. "Ultimately, the police are trying to force (exemptees) hands, driving us back to the street dealers by shutting down legal operations," she said. "We're literally running scared." Professor Allan Young, an Osgoode Hall lawyer who advocates for proponents of medical marijuana use, said Bruce and Kresjola may have inadvertently brought the raid upon themselves. They made several calls to police regarding trespassers, including an allegation that some intruders were armed, and that may have prompted police to act quickly, he said. "I'm only speculating, but once police had information that guns were involved, and there was potential for violence, they may have decided there was no choice but to shut Dianne and Jerry down," Young said.Complete Title: Drug Squad Raids Cramahe Farm Property Used to Grow Medical Marijuana Related Article - Editorial Canada's Big Drug Problem: The Law Due to a local police action last weekend, 56 people who suffer from apparently incurable diseases, and who have all been given the legal right to consume marijuana to ease their afflictions, are once again without any legal source for their medicine. But heavy-handed though the drug raid may have been, a good case can be made that the OPP were just doing their job, and that the real culprit is the bizarrely inadequate framework of Canadian justice regarding psychoactive substances. The weekend bust involved Lady Dyz Helping Hands, a Cramahe Township gardening operation profiled in our October 10 issue. The operation was above-board, and all those involved had filled out forms in an effort to comply with new federal provisions for the legal use of medicinal marijuana. But after the raid, police stated that the 40 pounds of seized marijuana had a "street value" of $80,000. And even though the herb was not, by all accounts, destined for "the street," police may have rightly feared that the presence of such valuable, and easily saleable, substances in a rural farmhouse could result in a violent break-in. Of course, there is only one reason that the herb commands an astronomical price, and only one reason why so much of the supply is distributed by gun-wielding gangs: because it is illegal. The health problems caused by marijuana are dwarfed by the crime problem -- the murderous struggles between rival drug lords, and the thefts and break-ins committed by users trying to acquire a ridiculously-priced herb. And the crime problem could be solved with the stroke of a legislative pen, if only Canada's government had the courage to enact a common-sense solution. Instead, we have the current well-meaning but ridiculous stopgap measure, which theoretically makes it possible for desperately ill people to use marijuana as medicine. The relief remains elusive, because as long as the drug remains generally illegal, its street price remains sky-high. Therefore any growing operation will attract the attention of criminals, and must also attract the attention of police forces. In the current legal context, with medical marijuana gardens facing such dangers, police drug squads should be given a special mandate to protect these operations, rather than seeking out technical excuses to shut them down. Without such legal protection, the medical marijuana provisions in Canadian law remain a cruel hoax.Newshawk: puff_tuffSource: Independent Online (CN)Author: Tom Philp, The Independent Published: October 24, 2001Copyright 1998--2001, Conolly Publishing Ltd.Contact: letters eastnorthumberland.comWebsite: http://www.eastnorthumberland.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:FTE's Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmSuffering Few Who Legally Possess Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11135.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by wades on October 26, 2001 at 14:01:42 PT: re: Neuropsychological Performance in Cannabis Use In summary, our findings do not support the hypothesis that long-term heavy cannabis use causes irreversible cognitive deficits, at least at the level detectable with our test instruments and our sample size. However, in agreement with previous reports, we found evidence that heavy users exhibit some cognitive deficits lasting for many days, and possibly for weeks, after discontinuing cannabis use.This study was supported in part by grant 5 R37 DA-10346 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Rockville, Md.I bet Leshner is pleased as punch with this one. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by kaptinemo on October 26, 2001 at 13:56:47 PT: I must sadly agree Most people simply have no idea of the enormity of the brutality that goes on day after day throughout North America regarding the treatment of the cannabis-needy sick by the police. It remains like sounds heard through a heavily insulated wall; those that hear the cries of the sick and injured can't quite make out what's happening next door; the sounds are too muffled. Until they hear a full blown and heartrending shriek, they won't realize that their neighbors are being tortured - and with the letter of the law - killed, as Peter McWilliams was.The antis know that they must avoid a public confrontation with medicinal cannabis users at all costs; their inability to honestly answer emotionally charged questions will doom their policies in the eyes of a public that heretofore didn't even know such people existed. Or that such torure was being 'legally' visited upon the sick, helpless and dying.I've said in the past that if one sick, wheelchair bound and dying person could summon enough strength to damn the antis live on national TV, to their faces, for the suffering they've been made to endure for the sake of the "Chil-drun", the game would be over in the States. I daresay that if the same happened in Canada, the game would be over literally by the next day. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by TroutMask on October 26, 2001 at 13:34:11 PT Sad Unfortunately, it may take cruel and inhumane crackdowns like this to quickly topple the stupid laws that cause them.-TM [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on October 26, 2001 at 13:21:08 PT You're Welcome Puff_tuff, you're welcome. I hope the laws change soon. The world is falling apart and they still waste time going after people who believe in a plant. A plant that has been on this earth since the beginning of time. I feel very sorry for young adults these days. What a world they are inheriting. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by puff_tuff on October 26, 2001 at 12:57:30 PT Thanks FoM In regards to Diane Bruce, I received this e-mail from a Canadian exemptee. **I went in to the Whitby Jail yesterday and visited Lady Di. It was a tearful re-union. Diane suffers from fibro myalgia (not MS as reported in the Sun) Her discs in her neck are severely compressed and pressed into her spinal cord. The associated pain is constant and excruciating. Her stomach and intestinal problems leave her doubled over vomiting every day. I've seen all this myself and for the life of me, I don't know how this woman is surviving/enduring that hellhole of a place. She has had a problem finding someone to post securities for bail. She’s praying someone gets her out of there on Monday 29th now. I pray it happens. You all might want to say a prayer for her well-being as well.** [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 26, 2001 at 12:29:51 PT Neuropsychological Performance in Cannabis Users Hi Everyone,Puff_tuff sent me this article and it is interesting but it seemed really hard to figure out how to post it so here is the link. Neuropsychological Performance in Long-term Cannabis Users http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/issues/current/rfull/yoa20391.html [ Post Comment ] Post Comment