Raymond Turmel

Raymond J. Turmel is a Canadian political activist. He is the brother of John C. Turmel, and holds similar views on issues such as monetary reform and marijuana legalization. Turmel describes himself as a "warrior for marijuana", and has a lengthy arrest record for pot-related offences. Like his brother, he has campaigned for public office on several occasions.

Ideology

Both Turmel brothers were raised in the Quebec social credit tradition, and have criticized major banks for what they describe as an unjust policy of interest rates. The brothers have organized protests against interest rates on Parliament Hill in Ottawa ("Globe and Mail", 16 April 1982), and Turmel argued before the Supreme Court of Canada in 1982 that the Bank of Nova Scotia's interest rate policies were a violation of natural and Biblical law. He has also argued that interest rates starve children, by forcing farm foreclosures ("Canadian Press", 21 June 1982).

Candidacies

Turmel ran as an independent Social Credit candidate in the 1981 Ontario provincial election and campaigned for a federal by-election in the Quebec riding of Joliette later in the same year. He appeared on the ballot as an independent, but described himself as a "true Socred" ("Globe and Mail", 4 August 1981).

In 1982, he campaigned as an independent Christian Credit Party candidate for a federal by-election in the Ontario riding of Leeds—Grenville. A newspaper report indicates that all-candidates' meetings were enlived by his antics ("Globe & Mail", 9 October 1982). Turmel also campaigned as an independent candidate in the 1984 federal election and the 1985 Quebec provincial election, and as a Marijuana Party candidate in the 2000 federal election. During the 2000 election, he argued that legalizing marijuana would save enough money to resolve long-standing issues of health care and Quebec separatism ("Ottawa Citizen", 26 November 2000).

Marijuana conviction

Turmel was arrested in July 2000, after police discovered 450 marijuana seedlings and 153 mature plants in his Hull apartment. He argued that the pot was being cultivated for medicinal purposes, to benefit his chronically ill wife, his mother, and a neighbour. Turmel's wife had attempted to gain legal exemption for medicinal marijuana use prior to his arrest, citing long-term injuries sustained in a 1989 traffic accident.

Turmel attempted to have the arrest quashed on the grounds that Canada's marijuana laws violated his constitutional right to life. This argument was rejected by Quebec Superior Court Justice Jean-Pierre Plouffe in 2001 ("Ottawa Citizen", 20 November 2001), and he was found guilty in December 2001 of growing with intent to traffic ("Le Droit", 29 May 2002). During the course of his trial, the crown attorney described Turmel as a "danger to society". He readily agreed, proclaiming that "by the time I'm finished, the marijuana laws will be scrapped" ("Ottawa 15 March 2002).

After an extended delay, Turmel was sentenced in the summer of 2002 to eighteen months in jail ("Canadian Press", 21 June 2002). He was released from prison after only thirteen days pending an appeal, and subsequently set up a website to assist other prisoners with in appealing their convictions ("MX", 11 July 2002).

He was returned to prison early in 2005, when the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld his conviction ("Canadian Press", 18 January 2005). He subsequently took his case to the Supreme Court of Canada, which dismissed his appeal on June 30, 2005. [http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/06/30/MedicalPot_050630.html] Turmel continued to promote marijuana law reform from his prison cell, arguing to other inmates that Canada's drug laws are unconstitutional ("Le Droit", 28 January 2005).

Turmel represented himself throughout the legal proceedings. He was listed as 49 years old in 2001.