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Pubdate: Fri, 18 Mar 2005 Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU) Copyright: 2005 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274 Author: Mike King Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Related: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Boris+St+Maurice (Marc-Boris St-Maurice) BLOC POT LEADER COMPLAINS OF POLICE STING Marijuana Bust; Party Infiltrated, Defence Lawyer Wants Evidence Thrown Out The leader of the Bloc Pot told a Quebec Court hearing yesterday that undercover Montreal police officers secretly joined the pro-marijuana political party to find evidence against users of the illegal drug. "The cops infiltrated our party to catch people and scare others," Hugo St-Onge testified before Judge Andre Perreault. St-Onge was the first witness called in a pre-trial motion hearing in the case of party founder Marc-Boris St-Maurice, who was charged with marijuana possession after being arrested at Bloc Pot headquarters one year ago. A one-year membership cost $5, St-Onge explained, and anyone could join for one day by making a donation of their choice. At the time of St-Maurice's arrest, the party office included the Cafe Marijane. Police officer Victor Melo recalled on the stand yesterday how he and a partner became members for a day, but that he thought it was a sort of commercial co-operative rather than a political party. "I was there assisting an investigation into pot possession and use," Melo said. Under cross-examination by prosecutor Mario Longpre, Melo described watching St-Maurice - whom he recognized from media reports - take out a bag of marijuana, roll a joint, light it, then go into the nearby washroom. Melo said other police officers arrived within seconds and arrested St-Maurice. Defence lawyer Julius Grey, a constitutional-law expert, is fighting to have the evidence collected by those undercover cops excluded from the trial. "It's impeding someone's rights when police join a political party to get evidence," St-Maurice said during a break in the proceedings. "It has to be a severe crime like murder to justify such action, but not possession of pot when there are discussions of legalizing it," he added. "It's a fundamental right and democratic principle to be free of frivolous prosecution." St-Maurice is also the founder and former leader of the federal Marijuana Party, but he recently joined the federal Liberals. Arguments are to continue today in the court case. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom