Chris Buors, 46, described as Manitoba’s foremost medical-marijuana advocate, was sentenced to six months in jail and three years of supervised probation on 17 November 2004 for growing cannabis for his Compassion Club.[1] Judge Alan MacInnes said that while Buors provided a service to people in pain, everyone had to follow the same law.[1] The Crown had asked for one year.[1]
Police found about 30 marijuana plants and hydroponic equipment in Buors’s Winnipeg home in August 2002 after a neighbour called to report a break-in.[1] Buors first argued officers had no right to enter, then pleaded guilty after the judge rejected that claim, asking for a conditional sentence as he had received for a 1998 drug conviction.[1] The court heard a taped radio interview in which Buors said he was unapologetic and would likely grow again, and that he had campaigned outside the downtown law courts for free hydroponic equipment days after the 2002 arrest.[1] His club had about 25 local members living with illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, fibromyalgia and depression.[1]
