Pubdate: Wed, 05 Sep 2012
Source: Sudbury Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 Osprey Media
Contact: http://www.thesudburystar.com/letters
Website: http://www.thesudburystar.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/608
Author: Carol Mulligan

POT SMOKER COMPLAINT DISMISSED

The Special Investigations Unit has decided not to further 
investigate a complaint by a Sudbury man who said he was roughed up 
by Greater Sudbury Police officers when he lit up a joint of 
marijuana outside the Sudbury Courthouse last month.

Jamy McKenzie, 27, was confronted by police during a break at the 
Aug. 10 sentencing hearing for a Sudbury man who pleaded guilty to 
production of a controlled substance -- cannabis and cannabis resin.

David Sylvestre was sentenced to 10 months of house arrest by Justice 
Robbie Gordon after pleading guilty to charges laid in February 2009, 
when police seized 37 pounds of marijuana and 12 pounds of cannabis 
oil or resin from his home near St. Charles.

Syvestre, 54, said he grows and smokes marijuana to deal with the 
effects of severe diabetes.

McKenzie said he has a permit to smoke marijuana for medical purposes 
for conditions including metabolic myopathy, liver failure and cystic 
fibrosis. McKenzie said he also recently underwent a liver 
transplant. He was charged with possession because of the courthouse incident.

McKenzie filed the com-plaint to the SIU afterward, but Ian Scott, 
the agency's director, said Tuesday the investigation has been terminated.

In a news release, the SIU said a preliminary investigation showed 
McKenzie didn't sustain serious injuries.

The agency's mandate is limited to investigating serious injuries and 
deaths resulting from possible criminal offences by police officers.

McKenzie is to appear in court Wednesday morning on the charge of possession.

A crowd of his supporters is expected to pack the courtroom where he 
will make a first appearance on the charge.
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