Seattle, WA: US medical cannabis refugee Steven Tuck has been turned over to American authorities after Canadian law officials took him into custody while he was undergoing hospital treatment in Vancouver. Tuck is currently being held in jail in Seattle without access to medical treatment, despite a court order mandating his hospitalization, according to the Associated Press.
Federal authorities are seeking to prosecute Tuck, who uses cannabis medicinally to treat chronic pain among other symptoms, on charges that he grew marijuana while living in California in 2001. Tuck, who claims that his marijuana cultivation was legal under state law, had relocated to Canada because federal law forbids defendants from arguing that their use of cannabis was for medical purposes.
Tuck, along with several other Californians facing federal prosecution in the United States on medical marijuana-related charges, was seeking asylum status from the Canadian government. Canadian authorities had recently denied his request and Tuck was in the process of appealing that decision.
NORML Legal Committee member Douglas Hiatt of Seattle is currently handling Tuck’s defense.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or visit http://www.marijuananews.com for daily updates.