Pubdate: Mon, 10 Mar 2014
Source: Metro (Ottawa, CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 Metro
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/Ottawa
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4032
Author: Trevor Greenway
Pages: 3

COUPLE SUING FEDS FOR $6.5M WORTH OF WEED

With prices expected to skyrocket under new rules, an Ottawa man and
his wife want the government to cover them for 40 years worth

An Ottawa couple who uses medical marijuana is suing the federal
government for a combined $6.5 million, a projected figure of what it
will cost them to stay medicated for the next 40 years when Health
Canada changes the rules to its Marihuana Medical Access Regulations
program.

Russell Barth says he consumes about 11 to 12 grams of pot every day
(he says he has a prescription for 16 grams per day) for pain
management related to his fibromyalgia symptoms as well as
post-traumatic stress. Barth and his wife, Christine Lowe, who suffers
from epilepsy, say they have a designated grower, an arrangement they
say allows them to stay medicated for far less than it will cost under
the new rules.

While he did not disclose how much he spends a year, he said a friend
of his grew a year's worth of marijuana in a single summer at a cost
of $500.

When Health Canada changes come into effect at the end of the month,
Barth and his wife won't be able to afford the up to $15 per gram they
will be forced to pay from commercial growers. The changes will also
force Barth to destroy all the stocked-up pot he already has - about
78 plants and 3.5 kilograms of dried marijuana that he says is worth
over $130,000.

The couple's statement of claim gives the Feds three options: Remove
cannabis from the Controlled Drugs and Substance Act (CDSA); grant him
and his wife an blanket exemption frmo the CDSA under its section 56,
or pay the couple the money so they can afford to medicate themselves
in the future.

Ideally, Barth wants marijuana to be legal for everyone. He sees a
market of cheap or free pot under those circumstances.

"Pot should be sold in supermarkets," said Barth. "Pot should be as
legal as coffee and chocolate, not tobacco and alcohol."

The new rules, which come into effect March 31, 2014, will no longer
allow medical marijuana patients to grow their own pot or use
designated growers. Instead, patients will have to buy from licensed
large-scale producers and that doesn't sit well with Barth.

"It's absolutely terrifying," he told Metro Sunday. "Everyday I feel
like I am wrestling with a robot."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt