CA: 'Pot' was for cats

[Guest roger]

'Pot' was for cats: accused

He says cops got wrong drug

By TRACY MCLAUGHLIN -- Special to Sun Media

The Toronto Sun

Ron McInnes of Orillia gives his cat, Calico, some of his backyard catnip. He claims the police busted him for the cat-happy herb, mistaking it for marijuana. His trial was held over yesterday. (SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA/Tracy McLaughlin)

ORILLIA -- A marijuana activist allegedly busted with a pound of pot claims police have no proof that what they seized is not catnip -- and he intends to try to prove it in court.

"It's a simple mistake. It looks like good stuff," said Ron McInnes, 60, owner of The Pot Shop in Orillia, which sells pipes, bongs and flavoured rolling papers.

McInnes, who is charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, was set to defend himself yesterday at his trial, but the court ran out of time and his case was adjourned.

His plan is to show that catnip, which he keeps around his home and even grows in his yard for his two chubby cats, tests positive for THC -- the psychoactive chemical in cannabis, the plant that yields marijuana.

While his plan to carry out the test in court yesterday went up in smoke, McInnes demonstrated his defence back at his shop.

He dipped a handful of catnip into a container of water and shook it up, then used an MP Rapid test kit specifically designed to test for THC in marijuana.

Seconds after putting droplets of the liquid onto the test card, two pink lines appeared in the test window -- indicating a positive sample for THC -- even though there is no THC in catnip.

McInnes claimed that testing done by the police is no more accurate than his test.

"Their testing equipment is just more expensive, that's all," he insisted.

McInnes said bags of catnip are a common treat around his home because it grows wild around his dwelling. To make a point, he went out and pulled a large stock of the herb from his overgrown backyard and gave it to one of his fat cats, which promptly started chewing on it.

"My cats get the best," he quipped. "In pet stores they grind up the stock with it, but I just use the leaves and the buds. It's good stuff."

He said police are wasting taxpayers' money by hovering around him.

"I don't even jaywalk," he said. No date has been set yet for McInnes' new trial.

Edited September 16, 2008 by roger

[Farmer Harris]

Hmmmm....Dont know what to think about this. Is he blagging because they'd destroyed the sample by the time of the court case. Or was it actually cat nip?

[Boojum]

I want to be this bloke's cat.

Meow

[Guest podgy]

i wonder if u could do a grow with catnip to camoflage your ganja?

I've got a few gowing right now, and fresh they don't look much like canabiss... Not really sure about what they look like dried up... But it does add a hint of something different in the air if your looking to mask odor... Basil, lavender, and rosemary work well in the mix too

[Farmer Harris]

Catnip plant off google. Suppose it KIND of looks like bud with flowers growing out the side.

The photo of the guy with his cat that does just look like small buds on a stalk.

Edited September 16, 2008 by Rambone

[Guest roger]

I want to be this bloke's cat.

Meow

Maybe you could follow him around, in the style of the kiora advert.