Pubdate: Wed, 09 Apr 2008
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2008 The Vancouver Sun
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Authors: Suzanne Wilton, and Daryl Slade, Canwest News Service
Bookmark: http://drugnews.org/topics/poppy (Poppy)

CALGARY MAN CONVICTED OF GROWING OPIUM POPPIES

CALGARY -- Gurdev Samra's garden of opium poppies once offered him a 
euphoric cup of tea, but this week, it made him the first person in 
Canada to be convicted of growing the illicit plant.

Samra, 63, was handed a one-year conditional sentence after pleading 
guilty to growing 1,200 opium poppy plants at his home on Eldorado 
Close N.E., which was busted by police last July.

The judge took a dim view of the poppy garden, despite the fact 
cultivation of the plants was for personal use in tea, which Samra 
had done since he was a youngster in India.

"Clearly, there is no place in Canadian society for growth of this 
product," Provincial Court Judge William Cummings said. "It is 
completely offensive to the community. A loud message has to be sent."

An expert on the opium poppy said consuming the plant's seeds is is 
not comparable to the medicinal use of marijuana. "The idea of 
nipping these things in the bud is a good thing," said University of 
Calgary professor Peter Facchini, who recently received a $650,000 
grant for three years of research into medicinal uses of opium poppy.

Opium is a narcotic formed from the resin released when the pods of 
seeds are broken open. It's used to make pharmaceuticals such as morphine.

It's also an illicit drug, most commonly used to make heroin, a 
powerful and highly addictive drug.
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