Reefer justice

The ruling in the cases of Boris St-Maurice and Alex Néron, the potheads-cum-politicos arrested in the Montreal Compassion Club raid, will be delivered next Tuesday afternoon after almost two years before the courts. The non-profit Compassion Club, on Rachel and Mentana (and almost directly across the street from Station 38), distributes medical marijuana to patients with doctor’s notes, and survives largely on the efforts of its volunteer workers.

St-Maurice, the Quebec chieftain of the federal Marijuana Party, says the charges of trafficking of controlled substances he and Néron face are inconsistent with Canada’s much-trumpeted easing of medical marijuana restrictions. “The irony of all this is that [since the bust] the federal government has yet to deliver a teeny tiny gram to anyone. And since the bust the Compassion Club has gone through a complete cycle, giving out several ounces a week. We were doing exactly what the federal government was planning to do except more expediently.”

St-Maurice also expressed his happy surprise with the sympathy his cause has found in the mainstream media. He says many editorialists have come out on side of liberalizing marijuana laws, as has the president of the Canadian Medical Association.
Still, the law is the law, and he and Néron face the music next week. Asked what he expects at his upcoming appearance at the Palais de Justice, he says, “Ask me Tuesday afternoon.” :
—Patrick Lejtenyi