Pubdate: Thu, 02 Jun 2005
Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
Copyright: 2005 The Edmonton Journal
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada)
Cited: http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc)

PREGNANT WOMAN JAILED FOR SELLING 'MEDICAL' POT

(CNS: CP) A pregnant New Brunswick woman convicted of selling marijuana for 
what she insisted were medicinal purposes will have to deliver her baby in 
jail.

Lynn Wood, 32, owner of the Cannabis Cafe in Saint John, N.B., was 
sentenced to one year in jail on Wednesday for trafficking in marijuana in 
a case that raised questions about the sale of pot to people who say it 
eases their pain and suffering.

Wood, 32, who is six months pregnant, defended her cafe as a compassion 
club where people who wanted to purchase marijuana had to prove to her that 
they needed it for medicinal purposes.

New Brunswick provincial court Judge Murray Cain insisted on a prison term, 
saying Wood was likely to keep selling pot if not jailed. He said she would 
have access to medical care while having the baby in prison.

The sentence has outraged some marijuana activists, including 
Vancouver-based Marc Emery, publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine, who 
says Wood is the first Canadian ever sent to jail for selling pot for 
medical reasons.

"A prison term is unbelievable," Emery said Wednesday. "She's a wonderful 
person. She already has three children at home. This is going to be 
devastating to her."

Cain, however, rejected arguments at Wood's trial this year that she and 
her husband James had operated a marijuana compassion club -- selling only 
to proven medical users -- at the couple's cafe in downtown Saint John.

Wood claims she asked for doctors' letters from customers before dispensing 
marijuana. But prosecutors said the cafe sold pot to people on the basis of 
only a personal statement that they needed marijuana to ease the pain and 
suffering of various medical ailments.

"She had a form that people needed to fill out to become a member (of the 
cafe), and there was no requirement that a doctor sign this form," said 
Crown prosecutor Nicole Poirier in an interview Wednesday.

Poirier also said Wood's customers included students from two high schools.

The Cannabis Cafe, located across a busy intersection from the police 
department, has been a thorn in the side of city authorities for several 
years, especially since 2003 when the Woods claimed to be operating the 
first over-the-counter medical marijuana store in Canada.

Several government bodies, including the Senate, the Ontario Court of 
Appeal and the B.C. provincial court, have recognized cannabis compassion 
clubs as supplying the legitimate needs of medical marijuana users.

The federal government has allowed regulated use of medical marijuana since 
2001, but its own program, run by Health Canada, is frequently criticized 
for offering poor-quality cannabis and for being slow to issue permits.

Jim Wood has said he applied to Ottawa for a permit to sell medical 
marijuana, but never heard back from the government.
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