Pubdate: Wed, 1 June 2011 Source: Guelph Mercury (CN ON) Copyright: 2011 Guelph Mercury Newspapers Limited Contact: http://news.guelphmercury.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1418 Author: Thana Dharmarajah, Mercury Staff GUELPH MAN ACTIVE IN SETTING UP MEDICAL MARIJUANA NETWORK GUELPH -- A year ago, Guelph's Medical Cannabis Club was raided by police. Its founder, Rade Kovacevic, has since been influential in the creation of a national network of medical cannabis dispensaries. It is to be the first of its kind in Canada. "It means (patients) will have the same quality of patient care across Canada," said Kovacevic in a phone interview Tuesday after the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries was announced at a news conference in Ottawa. He said that different standards currently exist among compassion clubs across the country that have been providing marijuana to Canadians suffering from illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, cancer and multiple sclerosis. Nine founding directors of compassion clubs across the country and three advisory board members for the national network are working to create a list of standards and criteria for various dispensaries, Kovacevic said. "If you go to a dispensary in Ontario, it should be operating under the same standards as a dispensary in British Columbia," he said. "Similar to a pharmacy, you will know what to expect." Although the network has been in the works for a year, its announcement follows an Ontario Superior Court ruling in April that could make the possession of marijuana legal in the province. Justice Donald Taliano gave Ottawa until July to fix the federal medical marijuana program or face the prospect of effectively legalizing possession and production of cannabis. The St. Catharines justice declared the program to be invalid, as well as the laws prohibiting possession and production of cannabis, since they can be used to criminally charge medical users unable to legally access the drugs. Paul Lewin, the Toronto lawyer who represented 37-year-old Matthew Mernagh, whose criminal case led to the justice's decision, said the federal government's rules have been repeatedly found unconstitutional. "(The government) doesn't want to take a responsible approach with regulating the industry," he said, adding the network of medical marijuana dispensaries sounded ideal. "These are the individuals that know the most about it," Lewin said. "It's the perfect time. The industry is screaming out for it." There are seriously ill Canadians with doctors who think it's outrageous to prescribe medical marijuana, Lewin said. Mernagh suffers from fibromyalgia, scoliosis, seizures and depression. It causes people to be stressed and shamed when they try to access the drugs through other means, he said. The justice's decision on the Mernagh case is to come before the Ontario Court of Appeal, although a date hasn't been set. Meanwhile, Kovacevic and two other former employees from the Guelph compassion club, still face drug trafficking and drug production charges which arose from the police raid last May. A two-day trial in the matter has been set for December. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.