cannabisnews.com: `Medicine' Seized in Bust of Pot Club 





`Medicine' Seized in Bust of Pot Club 
Posted by CN Staff on August 14, 2002 at 07:14:49 PT
By Tracey Tyler, Legal Affairs Reporter
Source: Toronto Star 
Four people were taken into custody last night after police raided a Toronto "compassion club" set up to distribute "medical" marijuana."They are not criminals," their lawyer, Alan Young, said after leaving Toronto police 13 Division, where his clients were being held pending a bail hearing today at old city hall. "They were providing medicine to sick people."
The four were charged with trafficking in a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking over a three-month period, Young said.He said if they are released on bail today, one of the conditions will probably be that the Toronto Compassion Centre, which is located on Bathurst St. near St. Clair Ave. W., be shut down, and that will leave more than 1,000 members without the marijuana they say they need to cope with serious illnesses. Young called the arrests "vindictive" and "stupid."One of the four people charged, Warren Hitzig, the club's founder, is also one of a group of seven people suing the federal government over its medical marijuana regulatory regime."They (Toronto police) are going to have to live with the repercussions of cutting off the supply of medicine to sick people," Young said, predicting the phones at 13 Division will be ringing off the hook with calls from club members.Police would not say what motivated them to act last night. A constable said they were under orders from their superior officer not to discuss the case or even release any details about who was charged and what they were charged with.Young said the club has been operating openly for three years with a storefront, Web site and published phone number. A "breaking news" bulletin posted on the Web site last night suggested some of the charges might relate to a visit police made to the club last December to investigate a robbery in which several female staff members were beaten.At the time, they "found and confiscated a large quantity of medicine," but no charges were laid, according to the bulletin, which went on to say "Toronto cops have forced the issue and decided that it's time for war."Young said it's ironic that the federal government is handling the prosecution of his four clients at the same time it is defending itself in a lawsuit filed by one of them.Hitzig and the others are asking Ottawa to strike down regulations spelling out the conditions under which the use of medical marijuana is allowed and to provide them with a supply of pot that was grown experimentally, under contract to the federal government, in an abandoned copper mine in Flin Flon, Man.Hitzig's group says Ottawa's regulations are impossible to fulfill because doctors have been warned by their insurers not to sign the required medical declarations for people seeking pot. Note: Four charged were helping sick people, their lawyer says. Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)Author: Tracey Tyler, Legal Affairs ReporterPublished: August 14, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Toronto StarWebsite: http://www.thestar.com/Contact: lettertoed thestar.com Toronto Compassion Centre http://www.torontocompassioncentre.org/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by Glenn on August 21, 2002 at 09:04:55 PT:
THE BUST!
What the heck is going on with these Toronto cops!I've been using medical marijuana for 3 1/2 yrs. now and I find that it is more than enough. I was taking meds for a long time too but on the meds all I want to do is sleep. What the heck kind of life is that. At least with the medical marijuana I can get out and do things, and have energy, I will VOTE "yes" on the amending of the constitution to include medical marijuana as any human Beings protected right to use.Well I hope my point got across loud and maybe many more will join the banwagon too and nip this unneeded monster of Democrasy "ya, right" in the but. 
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Comment #9 posted by 2Spooky on August 15, 2002 at 07:04:45 PT
Good luck Herb doc
Hi Steve! =)Sorry to hear it is the same old BS there...when will the masses learn that to effect real change the corporations that run nations need to be disenfranchised?Kimberly and I are rooting for you down here in CA.
On our end, she had a good surgery last month and is recovering very well, with a great deal of pain reduction.Say hi to Lucy for us, too =).
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on August 14, 2002 at 21:24:37 PT
herbdoc215
Thanks! I hope we find how who was behind this. 
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Comment #7 posted by herbdoc215 on August 14, 2002 at 21:20:42 PT
It was National Post, sorry
I got names mixed up on who reported on what, but Post was slated to run that article that you posted later is what I meant but principle is same. I been calling all day to pigs in Toronto, nice to be able to bug them for somebody else for a change. Worse part is after talking with Hillary today it seems as if requirement of closing club ( Toronto ) as condition of bond for all 4 employee's is holding up. That's like kidnap/extortion to use law to acheive political means here in Canada but the RCMP get away with shit like that everyday, Charter of Rights my ass- only if your white enough, from RIGHT family and not crippled then they are rights and for the rest of us they are childrens fables. Over a 1000 souls will cry in pain tonight and every other night they are denied their medicine by a government all to willing to trade us for 4 cents a board foot and a few extra salmon from massa. Peace from 51st state of New World Order ( 4th Reich ). Steven Tuck    in exile
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on August 14, 2002 at 11:16:34 PT
herbdoc215 
I've been looking for the article you mentioned in the Toronto Star but haven't found it yet. Was it in the paper only maybe? Thanks!
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Comment #5 posted by kaptinemo on August 14, 2002 at 11:13:04 PT:
This looks more like something from a history book
Before the Death Camps were liberated by the Allies, the SS tried in vain to destroy all evidence of their monstrosities. Which, of course, meant killing as many prisoners as they could before the Allies arrived. The SS knew that the implacable Allies, especially the Russians, who bore so much of the horrors they inflicted, would want justice for all that had happened. Witnesses to genocide weren't wanted, thank-you-very-much (pistol shot).None of this happened in a vaccum. The orders to do this came from Berlin, from Himmler himself.The actions of police, here and in Canada, bear a disturbing similarity to those SS men. They realize that cannabis prohibition is coming to an end, and probably feel they have to 'get their kicks in' while they can do so with impunity.They must be getting their orders from someplace; want to wager that the initiation of these 'hostilities' came from a phone call...from DC?
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Comment #4 posted by herbdoc215 on August 14, 2002 at 10:32:59 PT:
Anybody got any phone numbers we can call?
The Toronto paper ran a op-ed today in favor of this club, THIS is why it was raided last night. They want to play hardball now that their puppetmasters have taken fully over their strings and ALL pretense at self-determination are now pulled off. My lawyer said Immegration Minister sent him a letter saying he was taking my case ( all 4 of our really! ) over PERSONALLY, Alex said this has never been done before in Canada. Shows how bad they want us gone, eh. All we ever wanted ws to live rest of my life with a little peace and now they have destroyed that too. Call all these bastards, as the line has been drawn. I REFUSE TO GO BACK TO SITTING ON THE BACK OF THE BUS! We must show them before they try to bust more clubs. People are dying now here for lack of medicine, Health Canada has blood on their hands. Peace, Steven Tuck  in exile
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Comment #3 posted by Dark Star on August 14, 2002 at 09:38:25 PT
Stench of DEA?
I would like to know if the DEA has its fingerprints on this one? Are there any investigational journalists working on this? Enquiring minds want to know, because some of use object vehemently.
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Comment #2 posted by Naaps on August 14, 2002 at 09:03:21 PT
Phooey on you, Justice Minster Cauchon
From yesterday’s articles, Martin Cauchon said, "I believe endorsing marijuana use might inflict harm on society and lead to greater problems." Harms are happening everyday, largely due to laws and enforcement over which you have significant control. Is part of the strategy of illustrating your commitment against marijuana, to shut down compassion clubs, forcing ill people to be without medicine? Is it correct, Mr. Cauchon, that allowing some people to quietly move on with their lives, through suffering and pain, using the good herb, leads to greater problems in society?"They are not criminals," their lawyer, Alan Young, said. People providing cannabis, regardless of what the law says, aren’t criminals working to maim and undermine society.The disruption at the Toronto Compassion Club will significantly affect the patients. No doubt, other clubs across the country are hunkering down for police visits. This reminds me of the California Club raids or the busts of the Victoria clubs where the patients are the ones forced to suffer further.  
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on August 14, 2002 at 07:43:02 PT:
The Crux
The current status quo in Canada is untenable. The court has already acknowledged the legitimacy of clinical cannabis, and the obligation of the government to ensure its supply to those who have negotiated the Byzantine process to qualify. More than a year has passed, and the government has not met its obligation. This case should be proverbially open and shut.The Crown has chosen not to dispute that the stored Flin Flon cannabis is still reasonable to give to these patients. They have chosen to rechallenge the scientific basis of clinical cannabis (already accepted, mind you) with a bunch of old marijuana myths, I have countered with marijuana facts (or cannabis conclusions). This will all play out in court. I only regret that the Crown did not choose to cross examine me in person. 
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