T
The420Guy
Guest
Anticipated support at a court appearance for a London medical marijuana advocate and her
husband went up in smoke yesterday.
Lynn Harichy, 38, said she was "disappointed" more people weren't on hand when she and
her husband, Mike, 48, made a brief appearance before Ontario Court Justice Gregory
Pockele on charges of trafficking and production of marijuana.
"I was expecting a lot more people," she said outside the courthouse, adding she was hoping
for up to 200 supporters.
But only a handful of people -- including a man from Cannabis Compassion Centre in
Windsor and a Toledo, Ohio, man from Drugsense, an American advocacy group -- were in
the courtroom. The Harichys are scheduled to return to court Oct. 11 when a trial date will
be set.
The London woman came to national prominence three years ago when she tried to smoke
pot on the steps of London police headquarters.
She says she needs the drug to control the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) such as
shaking and nausea.
Charges laid for possession at that time were stayed last year.
The couple also ran the now-closed Cannabis Compassion Centre on Wellington Street and
delivered pot to more than 600 people with serious illnesses such as MS, AIDS and cancer.
Mike Harichy pleaded guilty to trafficking marijuana through the centre last year and was
fined $300.
Though supporters stayed away from the courthouse yesterday, Lynn Harichy said she was
buoyed by more than 400 e-mails from Australia, Iceland and the United States sent to her
since she and her husband were charged last month.
London police said they seized 58 marijuana plants and more than 2,300 grams of marijuana
from a home on Teeple Terrace. The value of the drugs was estimated at more than
$71,000.
"They took our plants, scared my one son and took us to jail," Lynn Harichy said.
The Harichys' lawyer, Gord Cudmore, called the most recent charges a "major case" and said
he wants to move ahead with a trial quickly.
To speed up the court process, the Harichys admitted yesterday that the substance seized by
police is marijuana, eliminating any needed analysis by the Crown.
Cudmore said he is concerned about his client's health. "She has good days and bad days,"
he said. "She advises me that the marijuana does make it easier."
Lynn Harichy said she is feeling "pretty good" except for a stubborn cold that is increasing her
MS symptoms.
She added that her husband is ill with hepatitis. "We haven't had any pot since (the August
bust), just the odd stuff that's not very good," she said.
Two years ago, Lynn Harichy took her case for legalization to federal Health Minister Allan
Rock, who later approved medicinal use of marijuana on a trial basis to a small group.
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
Newshawk: Richard Lake MapInc
Author: Jane Sims, Free Press Reporter
Cited: London (Ont.) Cannabis Compassion Center: DrugSense
husband went up in smoke yesterday.
Lynn Harichy, 38, said she was "disappointed" more people weren't on hand when she and
her husband, Mike, 48, made a brief appearance before Ontario Court Justice Gregory
Pockele on charges of trafficking and production of marijuana.
"I was expecting a lot more people," she said outside the courthouse, adding she was hoping
for up to 200 supporters.
But only a handful of people -- including a man from Cannabis Compassion Centre in
Windsor and a Toledo, Ohio, man from Drugsense, an American advocacy group -- were in
the courtroom. The Harichys are scheduled to return to court Oct. 11 when a trial date will
be set.
The London woman came to national prominence three years ago when she tried to smoke
pot on the steps of London police headquarters.
She says she needs the drug to control the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) such as
shaking and nausea.
Charges laid for possession at that time were stayed last year.
The couple also ran the now-closed Cannabis Compassion Centre on Wellington Street and
delivered pot to more than 600 people with serious illnesses such as MS, AIDS and cancer.
Mike Harichy pleaded guilty to trafficking marijuana through the centre last year and was
fined $300.
Though supporters stayed away from the courthouse yesterday, Lynn Harichy said she was
buoyed by more than 400 e-mails from Australia, Iceland and the United States sent to her
since she and her husband were charged last month.
London police said they seized 58 marijuana plants and more than 2,300 grams of marijuana
from a home on Teeple Terrace. The value of the drugs was estimated at more than
$71,000.
"They took our plants, scared my one son and took us to jail," Lynn Harichy said.
The Harichys' lawyer, Gord Cudmore, called the most recent charges a "major case" and said
he wants to move ahead with a trial quickly.
To speed up the court process, the Harichys admitted yesterday that the substance seized by
police is marijuana, eliminating any needed analysis by the Crown.
Cudmore said he is concerned about his client's health. "She has good days and bad days,"
he said. "She advises me that the marijuana does make it easier."
Lynn Harichy said she is feeling "pretty good" except for a stubborn cold that is increasing her
MS symptoms.
She added that her husband is ill with hepatitis. "We haven't had any pot since (the August
bust), just the odd stuff that's not very good," she said.
Two years ago, Lynn Harichy took her case for legalization to federal Health Minister Allan
Rock, who later approved medicinal use of marijuana on a trial basis to a small group.
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
Newshawk: Richard Lake MapInc
Author: Jane Sims, Free Press Reporter
Cited: London (Ont.) Cannabis Compassion Center: DrugSense
