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Crusader for pot dies after MS fight
By: Patrick Maloney, London Free Press, 12/29/03

Londoner Lynn Harichy, whose efforts helped to legalize medicinal marijuana use in Canada, died Christmas Day after a lengthy battle with multiple sclerosis. She was 42. As part of a national network of lobbyists, Harichy was a longtime crusader for the legalization of pot for medicinal uses. She once lit up a joint on the steps of London police station, an act that led to her arrest.

Two years ago, following the efforts of pot crusaders like Harichy across Canada, the federal government eased the law on pot use for those suffering from serious illnesses.

The Office of Cannabis Medical Access was established to regulate use of medicinal marijuana in cases where it would have some medical benefit.

Harichy's efforts to that end leave a proud legacy, says her brother, Wayne Fortnum. "A lot of people when they go, they didn't leave anything behind. She has something. I'm proud that she did what she thought she needed to do."

Harichy ran the Cannabis Compassion Club, which supplied pot to sick people. She served more than 600 people who suffered from such diseases as MS, AIDS, cancer, epilepsy and chronic pain.

As the rules began loosening around marijuana use for the seriously ill, Harichy once told The Free Press why she started the club.

"The people who bought from us just couldn't go out on the street," she said. "It would have been too dangerous for them."

Despite the criminal charges it caused her, and the social embarrassment she once admitted to feeling, Harichy continued pushing the cause until her MS began to take its harsh toll over the past year, her brother noted.

"She was dedicated to her cause," Fortnum said. "When she got her mind (set) to do something, she did it."