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Vancouver - When Watermelon was arrested on Wreck Beach, naked and holding a tin of cannabis-laden ginger-snaps she had sold to undercover RCMP officers, it appeared to be just another sad case of the way the cookie crumbles.
But in Richmond provincial court this month, the ginger snaps proved remarkably durable and it was the case against her that fell to pieces.
Not that Watermelon, whose real name is Mary Jean Dunsdon, is out of the woods for commercially producing ginger snaps that have more snap in them than is legal.
She is still waiting for another Richmond judge to decide what to do with her after facing trial on a similar charge of possession of cannabis resin for the purpose of trafficking, the result of an undercover operation in July last year that resulted in a second arrest.
"I'm a baker, not a criminal, although my ginger snaps do have a bit of extra snap in them," Watermelon admitted after Judge Dennis Schmidt dismissed trafficking charges for her first arrest Sept. 8, 2001.
"There wasn't any pretext when I was in court. I wasn't pretending I'm not doing what I'm doing. I want to be a respected business person in my community but I have these legal challenges to deal with," she says.
These add up to three charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking and three of breaching an undertaking to stay away from Wreck Beach that she signed after her second arrest.
"It was either sign or stay in jail. But I was like a mouse who couldn't stay away from the cheese, and I'd keep sneaking down to listen to music and they'd catch me," she says.
When Watermelon was first collared three years ago it almost turned into a riot as the lone arresting officer had to take his naked captive away in front of 300 or so Wreck Beachers who didn't take kindly to the apprehension of their counter-culture pinup.
She had been a fixture on the beach for years selling cookies, pies and watermelon slices.
Pictures taken of the event show a harried looking police officer, Watermelon wearing a smile, and a bunch of gesticulating, angry people.
She turned one of those photos into a T-shirt print, captioned it Watermelon's Bust and sold the shirts around town while performing as a standup comic, satire being one of her many callings along with baking, acting, producing, writing, being an impresario and modelling for the covers and centrefolds of marijuana-industry publications.
"I sold the T-shirts because I needed the money for my defence," she says.
When the RCMP arrested her in July 2003, they waited at the top of the trail, away from the crowd on the beach.
When it all landed in court, the problem for the prosecution arose when Watermelon's lawyer John Conroy questioned the police analyst who'd examined the ginger snaps.
He hadn't found any microscopic traces of cannabis plant material, but discovered traces of cannabinoids -- the psychoactive chemical substances found in marijuana -- and the Crown charged her with possessing cannabis resin.
But Conroy pointed out that the analyst hadn't found resin.
"In the old days it wouldn't have mattered if they hadn't found resin, just cannabinoids. They would have simply amended the charges in court.
"But you can't do that today as it's prejudicial to the accused," said Conroy afterwards.
"If they'd charged her with cannabinoids, well and good. But they didn't and the analyst admitted he didn't find resin and so the judge dismissed the charges," said Conroy.
Crown counsel Gerry Sair said the acquittal was being reviewed and might be appealed.
In the meantime, Dunsdon is hoping for a second acquittal and then plans to be in court to have the ban preventing her from visiting Wreck Beach lifted.
"That beach is my home, my church, my community. It's a sacred place for me. I guess I'm a bit of a pagan. I like the sun, the water, the full moon, the music and crackling fires, and I haven't been able to go there since last year," she says.
Gerry Bellett
Vancouver Sun
Canada.Com
But in Richmond provincial court this month, the ginger snaps proved remarkably durable and it was the case against her that fell to pieces.
Not that Watermelon, whose real name is Mary Jean Dunsdon, is out of the woods for commercially producing ginger snaps that have more snap in them than is legal.
She is still waiting for another Richmond judge to decide what to do with her after facing trial on a similar charge of possession of cannabis resin for the purpose of trafficking, the result of an undercover operation in July last year that resulted in a second arrest.
"I'm a baker, not a criminal, although my ginger snaps do have a bit of extra snap in them," Watermelon admitted after Judge Dennis Schmidt dismissed trafficking charges for her first arrest Sept. 8, 2001.
"There wasn't any pretext when I was in court. I wasn't pretending I'm not doing what I'm doing. I want to be a respected business person in my community but I have these legal challenges to deal with," she says.
These add up to three charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking and three of breaching an undertaking to stay away from Wreck Beach that she signed after her second arrest.
"It was either sign or stay in jail. But I was like a mouse who couldn't stay away from the cheese, and I'd keep sneaking down to listen to music and they'd catch me," she says.
When Watermelon was first collared three years ago it almost turned into a riot as the lone arresting officer had to take his naked captive away in front of 300 or so Wreck Beachers who didn't take kindly to the apprehension of their counter-culture pinup.
She had been a fixture on the beach for years selling cookies, pies and watermelon slices.
Pictures taken of the event show a harried looking police officer, Watermelon wearing a smile, and a bunch of gesticulating, angry people.
She turned one of those photos into a T-shirt print, captioned it Watermelon's Bust and sold the shirts around town while performing as a standup comic, satire being one of her many callings along with baking, acting, producing, writing, being an impresario and modelling for the covers and centrefolds of marijuana-industry publications.
"I sold the T-shirts because I needed the money for my defence," she says.
When the RCMP arrested her in July 2003, they waited at the top of the trail, away from the crowd on the beach.
When it all landed in court, the problem for the prosecution arose when Watermelon's lawyer John Conroy questioned the police analyst who'd examined the ginger snaps.
He hadn't found any microscopic traces of cannabis plant material, but discovered traces of cannabinoids -- the psychoactive chemical substances found in marijuana -- and the Crown charged her with possessing cannabis resin.
But Conroy pointed out that the analyst hadn't found resin.
"In the old days it wouldn't have mattered if they hadn't found resin, just cannabinoids. They would have simply amended the charges in court.
"But you can't do that today as it's prejudicial to the accused," said Conroy afterwards.
"If they'd charged her with cannabinoids, well and good. But they didn't and the analyst admitted he didn't find resin and so the judge dismissed the charges," said Conroy.
Crown counsel Gerry Sair said the acquittal was being reviewed and might be appealed.
In the meantime, Dunsdon is hoping for a second acquittal and then plans to be in court to have the ban preventing her from visiting Wreck Beach lifted.
"That beach is my home, my church, my community. It's a sacred place for me. I guess I'm a bit of a pagan. I like the sun, the water, the full moon, the music and crackling fires, and I haven't been able to go there since last year," she says.
Gerry Bellett
Vancouver Sun
Canada.Com
