Pubdate: Fri, 06 Jul 2012
Source: Kamloops Daily News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 Kamloops Daily News
Contact:  http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/679
Author: Jason Hewlett

ACTIVISTS ANGRY OVER CLOSURE OF LEGAL GROW-OP

Medical marijuana users say the RCMP is playing with their lives 
after officers closed down a Chase grow-op they say was a legal operation.

"They (the police) can't just do what they want," said John Louvros, 
who uses marijuana to curb the effects of AIDS and hepatitis C. "This 
guy was doing this out of the kindness of his heart."

Kurtis Bischoff, made a brief appearance before a justice of the 
peace in a Kamloops courtroom Thursday morning to apply for 
compensation and the return of his marijuana plants and licence to grow.

He said the Mounties raided his operation on June 28 and seized his 
plants and papers. The police didn't have a warrant and he has not 
yet been charged.

Bischoff wanted the matter addressed today, saying the longer he is 
unable to produce, the greater the risk to his clients. He was told 
it would be heard in front of a judge on July 16.

This upset Bischoff's supporters, local pot activist Carl Anderson 
among them, who sat with Bischoff in court.

Anderson spoke to the media on Bischoff's behalf, saying medicinal 
marijuana users contract out to him for a reliable and safe crop.

Without Bischoff, they have no one else to turn to for help, he said.

Louvros relied on Anderson's Tranquille Road compassion club for his 
supply until RCMP shut it down last year.

Fortunately he was able to connect with Bischoff for a regular dose 
to combat the nausea that comes with AIDS, maintain an appetite to 
keep his weight up, and slow the fibrosis in his liver, he said.

With his supply once again gone, Louvros fears his health will 
deteriorate further.

"I'm at 105 pounds. I can't afford to lose any more weight," Louvros 
told The Daily News. "I'm in dire straights."

Larry Loranger, a health navigator with ASK Wellness, said closing a 
medical marijuana grow-op is like shutting the doors to a pharmacy 
for those people who rely on it.

"The only medication that does (what Louvros needs) is the medical 
marijuana," he said. "It's basically harassment by the police and 
picking on the most vulnerable people in society."

Anderson is involved in his own legal battle for the return of items 
police seized during last November's raid on his Canadian Safe 
Cannabis Society marijuana dispensary. He's charged with possession 
for the purpose of trafficking and scheduled to stand trial next year.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom