CANNABIS CAFE OWNER GETS BAIL EXTENSION

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CANNABIS CAFE OWNER GETS BAIL EXTENSION


Young mother will stay home to care for infant


FREDERICTON, N.B. - A marijuana activist who says she offered pot from her Cannabis Cafe for compassionate uses will spend at least four months at home with her newborn son and her other three children before facing a possible return to jail.


Lyn Wood, a convicted drug trafficker, has been given a bail extension until Jan. 10 when she will be back before an Appeal Court to argue against her conviction and sentence.


With her infant son, Jimmy, sleeping by her side, Wood doesn't fit the stereotype of a typical drug trafficker.


Wood, owner of the now-closed cafe in Saint John, N.B., was led into a Fredericton courtroom in leg shackles Tuesday as she appeared for an appeal of her conviction for trafficking in marijuana.


Following behind her was husband Jim Wood, carrying their month-old baby in an infant carrier.


The appeal court judges gave Wood a four-month extension on her bail, a relief for the new mother who is breastfeeding a newborn, as well as caring for three other children, all under the age of six.


Wood, a marijuana activist, was convicted in June of trafficking in marijuana despite her claim that the Cannabis Cafe was a compassion club that sold pot only for medicinal purposes.


She served 29 days in jail before being released by a Fredericton judge so she could have her baby at home.


Now she is fighting to stay out of jail permanently.


Wood said her only comfort are the letters of support she has received from others involved in the movement to legalize marijuana.


She said compassion clubs in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto have assured her of their support.


Although the cafe is closed, Wood said she would like to re-open it some day.