Pubdate: Fri, 06 Sep 2002
Source: Halifax Herald (CN NS)
Copyright: 2002 The Halifax Herald Limited
Contact:  http://www.herald.ns.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/180
Author: Amy Pugsley Fraser

JUDGE MULLS POT-SMOKING REQUEST

Man Seeks Permission to Light Up in Jail For Medicinal Reasons

A Supreme Court judge has delayed sentencing of a marijuana grower while 
she ponders his right to smoke medicinal pot in jail.

Michael Ronald Patriquen came to court Thursday fully prepared to go to prison.

"I had to tell my daughter . . . that I might not be home tonight and 
that's not nice. She's very upset, as is my son," Mr. Patriquen said before 
the hearing.

The delay means the 49-year-old can take his overnight bag home to Orchard 
Drive in Middle Sackville until Tuesday, when Justice Suzanne Hood will 
rule on a defence request to adjourn sentencing until Mr. Patriquen gets 
permission to take his medical marijuana to jail.

"If sentenced, I will be subjected to a cruel and unusual punishment with 
no medical relief whatsoever . . . so we are asking for an adjournment 
until such time as pot is available in prison, if that's not too much to 
ask," Mr. Patriquen told reporters.

Mr. Patriquen, a leader in the fight for legalized pot, pleaded guilty in 
March to conspiring to possess marijuana in Nova Scotia and conspiring to 
traffic in marijuana here and in Newfoundland.

A member of the Marijuana Party of Canada, Mr. Patriquen's Bedford company, 
Med Marijuana Inc., is soliciting dealers for a food supplement made from 
marijuana seeds.

The charges he faces aren't connected with his company.

Mr. Patriquen and his wife, Melanie Stephen, also face proceeds-of-crime 
charges.

Their 19-year-old son is charged with possessing marijuana and makes his 
first court appearance today.

Mr. Patriquen suffers from severe neuropathic pain as a result of a road 
accident in 1999.

Now, armed with two federal licences - one to grow marijuana and the other 
to smoke it - Mr. Patriquen inhales up to five grams of pot daily for pain.

"I've returned to a productive life because of the medical benefits of 
cannabis," he said.

Robbing him of that right would be "draconian," he said. "I will be sent to 
the only place in Canada where I cannot access the only pain relief 
available to me - marijuana."

Defence lawyer Warren Zimmer told Justice Hood the issue boils down to supply.

"Mr. Patriquen is lawfully entitled to possess . . . and produce marijuana. 
In jail, he will not have access to his own supply - and that's a breach of 
his (charter) rights."

The federal government has started a marijuana-growing operation in an 
abandoned Manitoba mine but it isn't at the stage yet where the drug can be 
released, Mr. Zimmer told the judge.

Crown attorney James Martin called the defence application a "sentence 
stalling tactic."

"Mr. Patriquen does not come before the court as a novice. He's quite an 
expert at picking the right time for a court challenge.

"There is nothing in the Criminal Code that says you should adjourn the 
sentence until marijuana is supplied."

He said the defence request is premature and that Mr. Patriquen should wait 
until he's denied his right to smoke marijuana.
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