Pot grower ordered to get a licence
Source: Comox Valley Echo (CN BC), 09-29-09

A Union Bay man found with a small marijuana grow op inside his home has been ordered to apply for a licence to grow pot from the federal government.

Gary R. Graham was busted on March 11 after police executed a search warrant at his Union Bay home and found 12 plants, each about two to three feet tall, growing inside.

Police also discovered several ounces of dried marijuana bud inside the home.

Five tons? Think about it. If any single dealer can put together five tons of the stuff in one shipment, one can only imagine the sheer volume that's moving around out there. Think of the demand that makes the risk worth it. Because if we learned anything during Prohibition, it's that the demand will be filled, massive profits will be made and consumers will learn to thumb their noses at the law. Yes, a few unlucky folks will go to jail. Just the price of doing business.

In the mean time, the combatants in the War on Drugs continue to wreak havoc, oftentimes on the innocent. Just check out the death toll in Mexico: six thousand and counting just in the last year or so. In short, we've successfully outsourced the death and destruction intrinsic to our own taste for illicit drugs. That's not something we can point to with pride.

As mankind has learned over the centuries, it's usually easier to start a war than it is to stop one, short of total destruction. At some point, we're going to have to admit that this whole campaign was ill-considered, and that it's time to come up with an exit plan. But don't hold your breath.

According to federal Crown prosecutor Marsha Down, Graham has a letter from his doctor explaining that he uses pot for medical reasons.

Judge Brian Klaver agreed that a conditional discharge was appropriate for Graham, with the proviso that he apply to Health Canada for authorization to possess marijuana for medical purposes within the next five months. Graham was also placed on 12 months probation.

© 2010 H.U.M.A.N.: Hemp Users Medical Access Network - Toronto Medical Marijuana