Pubdate: Mon, 15 Oct 2012
Source: London Free Press (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 The London Free Press
Contact: http://www.lfpress.com/comment/letters/write/
Website: http://www.lfpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/243
Author: Ian Gillespie

LAW COMES DOWN HARD ON LEGAL POT USER

We're supposed to have a system that punishes the bad guys, not the sick ones.

But that's not how it has worked for Mike Spottiswood, a 54-year-old 
Londoner who has spent the past two years mired in legal woes over 
the medicine he's legally allowed to use to treat a host of health problems.

The problem? His medicine is pot.

"I've done nothing bad," says Spottiswood.

"I've been a law-abiding -person my whole life. All I've done is use 
cannabis as medicine."

Spottiswood is one of thousands of Canadians who've received approval 
to produce, possess and consume cannabis to ease pain, nausea or 
other symptoms associated with an illness under the provisions of 
Health Canada's Marijuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR).

But the single father is still fighting charges (for possession and 
production of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking) 
laid by London police in Jan. 2011, when he was busted about five 
months before he was granted his MMAR licences.

He didn't have the licences at the time, he says, because despite 
persistent efforts he'd been unable to find a doctor to approve his 
application.

And that's not uncommon.

In a case last year, Superior Court Judge Donald Taliano quashed 
production and possession charges against St. Catharines native 
Matthew Mernagh and then, in a written judgement, concluded Canada's 
medical-marijuana program regularly fails to give legal access to 
sick people who need pot, mainly because most family doctors are 
reluctant to endorse its use.

But after about a dozen court appearances, Spottiswood is guardedly 
optimistic the charges against him will be dropped before his trial, 
scheduled for Jan. 2013.

And there are signs his hopes may be justified: About two weeks ago, 
he was officially informed that his 1999 Honda Civic, which was 
seized at the time of his arrest, is finally being returned.

"I'm eager to get this over with," he says, "because it's been 
ruining my life and hurting my health for far too long."

Spottiswood is coping with an array of ills, including 
osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, hepatitis C, irritable-bowel syndrome, 
knee problems and serious spinal damage, including several herniated disks.

"My health has gotten worse," says Spottiswood, who manoeuvres 
painfully around his house with the help of a cane. "I'm waiting for 
knee surgery, my back is very bad and I'm now showing signs of 
cirrhosis of the liver."

Spottiswood grows a few pot plants in his basement for his own use; 
he consumes some of his marijuana in food, and sometimes uses a 
smoke-free vaporizer that allows him to inhale the plant's active 
ingredients without combustion.

He says the marijuana "completely demolishes the pain" and has 
allowed him to stop taking dangerous prescription painkillers. He 
says he never consumes cannabis outside his home, and has never sold any.

"But they (the government) think we're all drug dealers, which is 
just ludicrous," says Spottiswood, who adds he plans to run as a 
candidate in the next federal election. "It's just terrible the way 
they've persecuted sick people that choose this method of dealing 
with their illnesses. It's a travesty."

Let's hope the courts agree.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom