[420 Girl]

BC: Courthouse sheriffs will soon get a lesson on medicinal marijuana after a Kelowna pot smoker was detained for two hours.

Don Pio, 35, has a Health Canada card authorizing him to light up when he needs to.

Sheriffs detained him Friday after he walked into the courthouse smelling of weed - something the Ministry of Attorney General is working to correct.

"As a result of this situation, Court Services will advise all sheriffs across the province to contact Health Canada directly in future so we can avoid this happening again," said ministry spokesman David Townsend.

Pio smokes a joint every 40 minutes or so to control his shaking and vomitting - symptoms of a complex medical condition. He had a toke before he was to meet his girlfriend at the courthhouse Friday morning.

Sheriffs took him to the courthouse garage after probation staff complained they smelled marijuana on Pio's breath. He showed them his Health Canada card, but one of them said it was fake, he said.

When they had him empty his pockets, he pulled out a container holding a dozen joints - his daily medication, he said. They drove him to the RCMP detachment, where he vomitted and shook in a jail cell as police verified his marijuana card. An officer released him with his marijuana soon after.

"It is regrettable the individual was detained, but it was deemed to be necessary until it was confirmed who he was," said Townsend. "The individual had no other identification other than his Health Canada card."

Pio hasn't ruled out a lawsuit and plans to talk to his lawyer.

"It was hell. Absolute hell."

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