Drop pot charges lawyer urges
Source: Terrace Standard (CN BC), 05-21-08

POT GROWING charges laid against a local couple should be dropped because one of them has a medical need to use the drug, says their lawyer.

Lawrence and Lynda Tallon were charged after a police raid on their house last September but before a medical marijuana use licence was obtained from the federal government, says Don Skogstad.

RCMP officers raided the Tallons again in March, after a medical use licence had been received, and no charges have been laid yet.

The September 2007 charges of production of marijuana and possession for the purpose of trafficking followed the seizure of 150 marijuana plants and what RCMP officers called "a substantial amount" of harvested marijuana.

Skogstad said Lawrence has a medical need to use marijuana, but declined to be more specific.

The licence indicates how many marijuana plants the Tallons can grow, how much harvested marijuana they can have and how much they can take with them if they travel, he added.

Skogstad wasn't sure how much his client was allowed each day, but said the amount the Tallons had in their house was within the limits of the licence.

Skogstad believes his clients received their licence to grow medical marijuana about a month before the second raid.

"There doesn't seem to me to be a lot of public good in prosecuting Mr. Tallon," he said.

RCMP officers confirmed the second raid March 7, saying they believed grow-op activity was continuing.

Constable Clint Lange said officers left after the medical marijuana licence was produced.

"We're just wondering how they got it," Lange said, adding police are checking with Health Canada to determine if the Tallons informed the government agency about the September 2007 trafficking charges against them when they applied for their medical marijuana licence.

Even if the Tallons were in the process of getting their medical marijuana licence when the police raided the house the first time, that wouldn't have an effect on this case because the Tallons would've been far over the limit of the amount of marijuana that their licence allows, Lange said.

Information submitted by officers for a search warrant for the Sept. 2007 raid indicated they believed there was a drugs offence underway at the 4724 Halliwell residence of Lawrence Tallon.

The search warrant said RCMP Constables Primosch and Luscombe were driving around with the car window open, when Primosch remarked there was the smell of green marijuana present.

The pair went to look around the house and saw a brighter light in some areas of the house than others. Both officers said to each other simultaneously "Did you smell that?" referring to what they believed was the odour of vegetative marijuana.

Police then determined the Tallon residence used more electricity than would be considered normal, suggesting that a grow op could be present.

Skogstad, who called the second raid "Third World Gestapo tactics," said officers should have checked the Health Canada medical marijuana registry before raiding the Tallon house again.

He said officers went in after the Tallons had left the premises and damaged a door to gain entry.

Federal drug prosecutors say they'll continue with the charges from the first raid.

"As far as we're concerned, the matter is still proceeding. [Crown has] a strong case to make concerning the Tallons," said Tim Klaassen.

He has not received any medical marijuana licence information on any case currently being prosecuted, he said.

"It's pretty clear on many of these cases that we have the opinion of drug experts that indicate that these productions are for more than just personal use, and so that's why we laid charges," Klaassen added.

The Tallon case is the first of its kind in the area and it is also the first where police asked the courts to prevent the residence from being sold or otherwise disposed of before the case had been concluded. If the Tallons are convicted, the RCMP has said it will seek forfeiture of the house.

Skogstad is from Nelson in the Kootenays and has built a reputation as a lawyer who handles a lot of drug cases.

In April, Skogstad was in a Nelson courtroom defending owners of a store who had been arrested for selling marijuana.

He called several witnesses who said marijuana has a therapeutic effect.

Lawrence Tallon has also been charged with possessing a prohibited weapon without a licence and careless use of a firearm.

2004 H.U.M.A.N.: Hemp Users Medical Access Network - Toronto Medical Marijuana