cannabisnews.com: I'm Tired of Being a Criminal





I'm Tired of Being a Criminal
Posted by FoM on January 10, 2000 at 06:27:41 PT
By Laura Landon, The Ottawa Citizen
Source: Ottawa Citizen
Yesterday, Rob Brown took his fight to legally smoke marijuana for medical purposes to Parliament Hill. "I'm tired of being a criminal. I'm tired of feeling like a criminal. I'm tired of being afraid of the police and everything else," Mr. Brown said as he set up his protest near the Centennial Flame in front of the Parliament Buildings. 
Mr. Brown vowed to sit there until Health Canada allows him to smoke marijuana legally to ease the symptoms of pain and nausea that he suffers as a result of hepatitis C and advancing cancer. It's been one year since Mr. Brown applied to Health Canada for an exemption to smoke the illegal drug. In that year, he says, he's dealt with reams of paperwork and an inefficient government bureaucracy. "I think it's wrong for them to tell me I can't do something that's saving my life," said the 43-year-old father of two and grandfather. As of last month, Health Canada has made allowances for 16 people to smoke marijuana for medical purposes. A 28-page Health Canada draft document written in Nov. 1999 says Health Canada "will contribute up to $1.5 million per year for investment in clinical, basic and applied research on marijuana and cannabinoids over a five-year period." "The problem," said Mr. Brown, "is people are dying in the meantime. And I'm prepared to be next." Mr. Brown discovered he had hepatitis C 10 years ago when he began passing out on the showroom floor of the Pembroke car dealership where he worked. Since then, he's suffered heart attacks, been diagnosed with cancer and been arrested. In Dec. 1998, Ontario Provincial Police raided his Cobden home and seized 65 marijuana plants, a few bags of leaves, roughly 5,000 seeds and some growing equipment. He and his wife, Linda -- a non-marijuana-smoker -- were charged with possession, production and trafficking. They've been to court nine times; for the past two court appearances, Mr. Brown was too weak to climb the stairs. A trial date is scheduled for June 19. Mr. Brown said he used to smoke 30 to 40 joints a day -- the necessary amount to control his daily dry heaves, shaking hands, diarrhea and cramping. He said going without marijuana has caused his symptoms to worsen, and his weight has dropped from 218 pounds to 135 pounds. Mr. Brown said he has begun to buy marijuana, but his meagre disability pension and his wife's part-time restaurant job don't go far in covering the costs of the drug. Over the last winter, he said, he has spent roughly $6,000 on marijuana, $1,200 of which he still owes. And while he's in the process of growing 30 plants, he expects the yield to be small. "He gags a lot, chokes, weakens and has no energy," said Ms. Brown. "In the last month or so, there's not been much for him, so he's had to stretch, and of course it's wearing on him." After watching her husband try a cabinet-full of prescription drugs to treat his illnesses, she says confidently nothing is as beneficial for him as marijuana. On the Hill, a few tourists with video cameras capture Mr. Brown's protest along with the Parliament Buildings. Two police officers stand awkwardly by. While Mr. Brown is allowed to protest, he is not allowed to set up camp or sleep in front of the Parliament buildings. If he slides into an "occupying" rather than a "protesting" role, he will be fined under the Public Works Nuisance Act, says RCMP officer Frank Ostiguy. If Mr. Brown becomes sick on Parliament Hill, Mr. Ostiguy added, medical aid will be called. Without marijuana, Mr. Brown admits that, in all likelihood, his illness will cut short his protest. "(Janis Joplin) said, 'Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose,' and that's me. I've got nothing left." Mr. Brown's lawyer, Rick Reimer, knows the benefits of medical marijuana as well. Roughly a year and a half ago, the prominent Pembroke lawyer learned he likely has multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease affecting a person's motor skills. In October, he admitted to smoking marijuana to feel better, and said that while technically his pot-smoking is illegal, he sees himself as anything but a criminal. "There were times when slavery was legal, when abortion was illegal," said Mr. Reimer. "If lawyers don't help in ameliorating those laws they see as unjust, who will?" Published: January 10, 2000Copyright 1999 Ottawa Citizen Related Articles:Protest Rooted in Pot - 1/10/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4243.shtmlI'm Not Afraid of Dying - 1/08/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4224.shtml 
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