Pubdate: Sat, 11 Aug 2012
Source: Sudbury Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 Osprey Media
Contact: http://www.thesudburystar.com/feedback1/LetterToEditor.aspx
Website: http://www.thesudburystar.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/608
Author: Carol Mulligan

ACTIVIST GETS HOUSE ARREST AFTER 37 LBS. OF POT FOUND

The medical use of marijuana was on trial Friday at the Sudbury
courthouse.

David Sylvestre was sentenced to 10 months under house arrest after
pleading guilty to production of a controlled substance -- cannabis
and cannabis resin -- he said he uses to treat severe diabetes.
Sylvestre, 54, was also charged with possession for the purpose of
trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime in February
2009, after a search warrant executed at his St. Charles home turned
up almost $100,000 worth of illicit substances. Those charges were
withdrawn.

Police seized 37 pounds of marijuana, 12 pounds of cannabis oil or
resin and $1,300 in cash at Sylvestre's home.

Sylvestre appeared in the Superior Court of Justice before Justice
Robbie Gordon, who heard submissions from Sylvestre's lawyer, Denis
Michel, and Crown prosecutor Denys Bradley prior to delivering his
sentence.

Michel was seeking a conditional sentence of house arrest for his
client and Bradley was seeking a jail sentence of nine to 12 months.

About 40 supporters of Sylvestre's, in favour of the medical use of
marijuana, packed into Courtroom J to lend support to the man who ran
for the Green Party of Ontario against Sudbury Liberal MPP Rick
Bartolucci in the 2007 election.

Michel said his client had never been in trouble with the law and was
a practitioner of natural medicine who derived a product from
marijuana he thought was a "miracle cure" for controlling diabetes.

Sylvestre has post-secondary education in chemical engineering and was
growing marijuana and experimenting to see whether it could replace
the conventional medications and insulin he was taking for diabetes.

Sylvestre worked for more than 25 years and raised a family, and when
he was charged by police, he and his family were just "getting on with
enjoying the Earth's benefits," said Michel.

Michel told the court while Sylvestre had a prescription from a
physician for the use of marijuana and had applied to Health Canada
for permission to use the substance, he hasn't been licensed to do
so.

Gordon questioned why Sylvestre would have grown such a large quantity
of marijuana when he said he needed less than eight grams a day to
control diabetes.

The judge pointed out police seized 36.9 pounds of marijuana buds, 12
pounds of cannabis resin and 38 plants from six to 18 inches tall.

"Does that seem to you to be an inordinate amount?" he asked
Michel.

Michel agreed it did, but said Sylvestre needed that quantity to
produce the substance that gave him relief from diabetes symptoms.

"I'm not saying it's a cure for everyone," said Michel of his client's
use of cannabis to control diabetes.

But his client didn't want to become wheelchair-bound from
complications from the disease.

Sylvestre later told Gordon, because he hadn't grown marijuana before,
he didn't realize how much of the substance he was producing.

Michel said his client was not a danger to society.

"A conditional sentence is jail, it is custody. There's no denying
it," said Michel.

Some people think it's a "glorified probation order," he said, but
it's not.

Bradley spoke of the impact a grow operation this size could have on
the wider community, suggesting people like Sylvestre are "the reason
there are drugs in schools in our community."

Sylvestre's supporters booed and jeered at that remark before being
admonished by Gordon they weren't doing Sylvestre any favours.

Bradley urged the judge to send a message to citizens with his
sentencing of Sylvestre that jail is the result of running "large,
sophisticated" grow operations.

Sylvestre told Gordon he did not have "monetary profit" in mind when
he grew the large quantity of marijuana.

At one point, Gordon cautioned Sylvestre he was venturing "a little
far afield" when he spoke about nutrition and soils in relation to
diabetes, urging him to stick to the matter at hand.   "I have an
intent to do no harm in honesty and integrity," Sylvestre told the
judge.

"I am not a criminal, not at all, and so I stand here before you ... I
could tell you lots more, but it would probably not be what you want
to hear."

Sylvestre said he watched a friend die of diabetes-related
complications, and feared that was his fate if he continued with
traditional medicine.

He even contemplated suicide, "that's how bad my quality of life was,"
said Sylvestre, who is now on a disability pension.

He said it was "unbelievable" he would be denied a way to improve his
health, but he said he had no intentions of breaking the law.

"I want to prosper life, not just for me but for everybody," he
said.

Gordon asked Sylvestre what happens when that desire conflicts with
the law.

Sylvestre said people should work to change those laws. Several
members of the gallery cheered.

Said Sylvestre: "I cannot just sit back and do nothing, but I will not 
break the law."

An activist involved in Occupy Sudbury protests, the anti-poverty
movement and community gardening, Sylvestre said he tells people to
"respect the law" and "do no harm.

"I don't know what else to say."

Gordon said he believed Sylvestre did not sell the cannabis he grew,
but Gordon said he "wasn't naive enough to believe it wasn't shared
with others."

Bradley had told the court he feared just that -- that cannabis shared
with others would end up in the wrong hands.

Gordon said he doubts Sylvestre will stop using cannabis, but said he
did not think Sylvestre posed a threat to the community.

This is one of the rare instances where a conditional sentence is
appropriate, said Gordon.

"This is no slap on the wrist," and 10 months of house arrest reflects
that.

Under the terms of his sentence, Sylvestre must remain at his home in
the Flour Mill at all times except for medical appointments and
Saturdays from 10 a.m..-4 p.m.

He cannot possess weapons for 10 years.

When asked if he could comply with those conditions, Sylvestre said
yes. "Good luck," said Gordon before adjourning.

Supporters broke into loud applause, cheers and whistles, crowding
around Sylvestre and hugging him as he spoke with reporters.

Sylvestre said he was never worried about going to jail, although his
family was.

One of his supporters, a man about 30, began to weep when Sylvestre
repeated his mantra of "no harm in honesty and integrity."

Said the man: "That's Dave."
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