Hash
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BC - Mik Mann doesn't worry about the local RCMP drug squad breaking his door down and raiding the marijuana grow operation in his basement.
In fact, he welcomes the police.
Mann, the Alberni-Qualicum candidate for the B.C. Marijuana Party, says he once had police stop by his Port Alberni home on another matter and he took them downstairs and gave them the full tour, showing officers the vegetative growth and cloning room, the budding room and the drying cupboard - complete with harvested marijuana buds hanging from the racks.
After checking his paperwork the officers, he says, left impressed. A few days later he received another call from the police, with other officers asking for a tour.
Mann has Hepatitis C, along with spinal arthritis and other health complaints which make it impossible for him to work. He lives off a small disability pension and, when he's not running for office, works to promote the medical uses of marijuana.
He's in a good position to do that, having obtained a federal exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in 2001, which allows him to grow 35 marijuana plants for his own medication.
Rail thin, Mann uses the pot as an appetite stimulant, one that works. He also uses it to take his mind off his pain.
"Ever hear of the munchies?" he asks. "Marijuana is the only appetite stimulant known to man. If you have chronic anorexia for instance, that's all there is, other than force feeding or counseling. For me, I'm down to visiting my doctor twice a year, mostly to fill out forms. I'm producing my own medicine at no cost to the taxpayer and my health has improved."
He's passionate about the legalization issue, and knowledgeable, too. Mann has worked extensively with the Vancouver Island Compassion Society in Victoria and has been growing his own plants for over 20 years. He can tell you which of the many varieties is best for a particular desired effect.
"Sativas have more of a creative, uplifting smoke that is good for appetite stimulation, whereas the indicas are good for sleep, relaxation and deep meditation," he says. "I mostly grow varieties such as Island Sweetskunk, Bluerhino, Skunkberry, Couchlock, White Russian and I have one mystery plant that was given to me."
The police were impressed, he says, because his operation is clean, safe and well managed, unlike the commercial grow-ops they usually run into.
And that, says Mann, illustrates part of the point he's trying to get across.
"If it was legal there could be regulations and inspections and it would be a non-issue to grow a few plants in the basement," he says, noting that, with marijuana being illegal, there's big money involved and people get greedy, expanding to fill the whole house, knocking holes in walls, making a mess and wiring things unsafely.
Mann's operation isn't like that. He uses a large activated carbon filter to get rid of the smell and has a proper motherboard unit hooked up to the dryer outlet to run his lights and timers. It's clean, tidy and above all, safe.
Mundane even.
Mann spends a lot of time in the basement, cloning from his mother plants, moving clones into the budding room and checking for mites and other pests.
He likes it that way. He doesn't think growing a few pot plants should be a big deal. In fact, he says, the only reason it is one is because of the law he's fighting to change.
"Nobody should have to live in fear because they're growing a plant," he says.
"I do this because it's the self-proclaimed job I've taken on. I stand for what I believe in. If more people who wished to do this could, the savings on pharmaceuticals could be astronomical. Every time you turn around you would be saving money."
Mann laughs when asked if he's concerned about the possibility of criminals coming to steal his crop.
"I'm one of the only people with a grow-op in the area who can call the police if there's a problem," he says. "And they would come, too."
Source: Parksville Qualicum Beach News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 Parksville Qualicum Beach News
Contact: pqbnews@island.net
Website: Home - Parksville Qualicum Beach News
In fact, he welcomes the police.
Mann, the Alberni-Qualicum candidate for the B.C. Marijuana Party, says he once had police stop by his Port Alberni home on another matter and he took them downstairs and gave them the full tour, showing officers the vegetative growth and cloning room, the budding room and the drying cupboard - complete with harvested marijuana buds hanging from the racks.
After checking his paperwork the officers, he says, left impressed. A few days later he received another call from the police, with other officers asking for a tour.
Mann has Hepatitis C, along with spinal arthritis and other health complaints which make it impossible for him to work. He lives off a small disability pension and, when he's not running for office, works to promote the medical uses of marijuana.
He's in a good position to do that, having obtained a federal exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in 2001, which allows him to grow 35 marijuana plants for his own medication.
Rail thin, Mann uses the pot as an appetite stimulant, one that works. He also uses it to take his mind off his pain.
"Ever hear of the munchies?" he asks. "Marijuana is the only appetite stimulant known to man. If you have chronic anorexia for instance, that's all there is, other than force feeding or counseling. For me, I'm down to visiting my doctor twice a year, mostly to fill out forms. I'm producing my own medicine at no cost to the taxpayer and my health has improved."
He's passionate about the legalization issue, and knowledgeable, too. Mann has worked extensively with the Vancouver Island Compassion Society in Victoria and has been growing his own plants for over 20 years. He can tell you which of the many varieties is best for a particular desired effect.
"Sativas have more of a creative, uplifting smoke that is good for appetite stimulation, whereas the indicas are good for sleep, relaxation and deep meditation," he says. "I mostly grow varieties such as Island Sweetskunk, Bluerhino, Skunkberry, Couchlock, White Russian and I have one mystery plant that was given to me."
The police were impressed, he says, because his operation is clean, safe and well managed, unlike the commercial grow-ops they usually run into.
And that, says Mann, illustrates part of the point he's trying to get across.
"If it was legal there could be regulations and inspections and it would be a non-issue to grow a few plants in the basement," he says, noting that, with marijuana being illegal, there's big money involved and people get greedy, expanding to fill the whole house, knocking holes in walls, making a mess and wiring things unsafely.
Mann's operation isn't like that. He uses a large activated carbon filter to get rid of the smell and has a proper motherboard unit hooked up to the dryer outlet to run his lights and timers. It's clean, tidy and above all, safe.
Mundane even.
Mann spends a lot of time in the basement, cloning from his mother plants, moving clones into the budding room and checking for mites and other pests.
He likes it that way. He doesn't think growing a few pot plants should be a big deal. In fact, he says, the only reason it is one is because of the law he's fighting to change.
"Nobody should have to live in fear because they're growing a plant," he says.
"I do this because it's the self-proclaimed job I've taken on. I stand for what I believe in. If more people who wished to do this could, the savings on pharmaceuticals could be astronomical. Every time you turn around you would be saving money."
Mann laughs when asked if he's concerned about the possibility of criminals coming to steal his crop.
"I'm one of the only people with a grow-op in the area who can call the police if there's a problem," he says. "And they would come, too."
Source: Parksville Qualicum Beach News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 Parksville Qualicum Beach News
Contact: pqbnews@island.net
Website: Home - Parksville Qualicum Beach News
