RCMP takes HIV patient's $1,500 medical marijuana at St. John's Purolator
The RCMP seized $1,500 worth of medical marijuana that Richard Oakley, an HIV patient with a Health Canada authorization, tried to collect at a Purolator depot in St. John's in July 2011. Police said they believed his licence was valid but were checking whether his British Columbia supplier was registered; no charges were considered.
🇨🇦 Purolator depot, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador · Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Richard Oakley, a St. John’s man who tested positive for HIV 25 years ago, had $1,500 worth of medical marijuana confiscated when he went to collect a package at Purolator and was met by the RCMP instead.[1][2]Oakley had moved back from British Columbia three months earlier; his first package from his designated B.C. grower arrived without trouble, but the second, marijuana and marijuana-laced chocolates, was held after Purolator told him to come back Monday.[1][2]
Oakley holds a Health Canada authorization for medical marijuana, which the RCMP said it believed was properly obtained; police were checking whether his supplier was registered under federal guidelines before deciding whether to hand the package over.[1][2]No charges were being considered, RCMP spokesman Sgt. Boyd Merrill said.[1][2]Purolator said it cannot tell legal medical packages from illegal ones and must notify police about suspicious or damaged parcels.[1][2]
Oakley said the cannabis eases nausea from his HIV drug cocktail, pain and neuropathy in his feet, and that without it he could not keep his pills down.[1][2]
Photos and video
Richard Oakley with his HIV medications and his Health Canada medical marijuana authorization, whose B.C. package the RCMP confiscated. Photo: Barb Sweet via The TelegramPhoto details
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