COUPLE CLAIMS DOPE GROWN OUT OF 'COMPASSION' FOR SICK

KITCHENER -- A couple who claims they were only meeting a medical
need admitted Monday that they went into business growing marijuana.

Andrew Davis, 37, and his wife, Susanna, 35, had no prior records
when police raided home-grows in suburban Kitchener and Waterloo in June 2010.

A search of their house on Tweedsdale Street in Kitchener turned up
221 plants worth an estimated $1,000 each, plus harvested marijuana,
cash and related paraphernalia.

Husband and wife pleaded guilty in Kitchener court to production of
marijuana and possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking
in connection with that bust.

Andrew Davis also admitted crimes in relation to a second grow-op at
a house he owned on Westvale Drive in Waterloo, where 48 plants were found.

He acknowledged in court that he has made mistakes, but insisted he
was motivated by compassion for people who use marijuana for pain and
other medical problems.

"Regardless of what anyone says, I know that is the truth," he told the judge.

His lawyer, Leora Shemesh, said outside court that while Davis made
money, he didn't get rich and limited the business to that market.

"He's not selling it to local kids at the high school," Shemesh said.
"He's doing it for people who need it."

The police investigation -- which began with an anonymous tip -- also
led to the seizure of 48 plants from the Waterloo home of a man who
is a quadriplegic.

Although charges in that raid were withdrawn, Davis admitted helping
the man with the Beechwood Drive grow-op after he had waited several
years for a medical exemption to use marijuana.

Justice Michael Epstein accepted the explanation in that case, but
found the other two home-grows were "motivated by greed."

Particularly telling, he noted, is that Davis wasn't working and had
no other source of income.

Epstein sentenced the former realtor and business owner to the
equivalent of 15 months in jail. Deducting pre-trial custody, Davis
has three months left to serve.

Federal prosecutor Bob Johnston sought an 18-month jail term,
dismissing claims Davis was a do-gooder and stressing the damage done
by home-grows.

"They completely ruin the homes they're in," said Johnston, citing
health hazards such as mould from high humidity. "They become sores,
a pox on the community."

Susanna Davis is scheduled for sentencing in July. Her lawyer,
Stephanie Krug, indicated she will argue for a term of house arrest.