York police went to a farmhouse Jim Wakeford had recently rented in Udora, north of Toronto, on 2 March 2001 after he invited them to inspect the marijuana he was growing for himself and other holders of federal medical exemptions.[1][2] Officers presented a search warrant and removed 150 to 200 marijuana plants, agreeing to leave Wakeford seven plants of his choice.[1] Maclean’s later put the number seized at about 200 plants.[2]

Wakeford, 56, who had full-blown AIDS since 1993, said he was growing for people with exemptions suffering from multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS, and accused police of stealing his medicine.[1] About eleven days later, provincial police stopped the taxi he was riding in, arrested him and seized a pound of marijuana he planned to share with friends in Toronto who used it medically.[2] He was taken to a station to be photographed, fingerprinted and charged with drug offences including possession for the purpose of trafficking.[2] In January, police had already confiscated all of Wakeford’s marijuana plants in Toronto.[1]