Pubdate: Tue, 07 Jul 2009
Source: Kamloops Daily News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2009 Kamloops Daily News
Contact:  http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/679
Author: Peter Wagner
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n640/a04.html?1578

POLICE OVERZEALOUS ON MARIJUANA BUSTS

I was shocked but not surprised when I read the article Leave Me the
Hell Alone about a medical patient who had his medicine taken away by
the Kamloops police.

I can't imagine the size the lawsuit will be against the Kamloops
police department after they decided to raid a medical user and take
away his medicine - causing his health to spiral downward, putting Mr.
Anderson into the hospital for weeks.

That's not all - after all that Mr. Anderson will have to redo his
entire operation, which is his only source for his medicine. This will
take no less then 12 months to regain his health, to a strong enough
state to start working on a new operation.

>From the story it's easy to see the Kamloops police and the Crown both
took shortcuts in their attempt to force a sick person into jail,
because they didn't take the time to speak to a doctor to find out if
what they were going to do would cause any obviously harm.

No doctor would have ever approved of this raid. Can you imagine him
saying, "Go ahead, taken that patient's medicine away and lock him up
- - it won't harm him."

I am disgusted by the lack of police work being done across Canada
when it comes to marijuana busts. Between the Crown and the police
it's like a yearly race to increase their numbers at all cost, even if
it means railroading many innocent sick people in the process.

When it comes down to it - arrest the drug dealers, not the sick
people, and remember, only better intelligence and lawsuits can avoid
these problems.

Peter Wagner
Toronto
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MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr