Pubdate: Fri, 12 Jun 2015
Source: Lethbridge Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2015 The Lethbridge Herald
Contact:  http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/239
Author: Geordon Omand & Terry Pedwell
Page: B2
Referenced: (R. v. Smith): http://mapinc.org/url/d2dzMbjW

HIGH COURT REDEFINES MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Supreme Court rejects Government`s limited definition of medical
pot

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled unanimously that medical
marijuana can be legally consumed in products such as cookies,
brownies and teas, a decision that "outraged" the federal government
but elated the baker at the centre of the case.

Federal regulations had previously stipulated that authorized users of
physician-prescribed cannabis could only consume dried marijuana.

But the high court said in a 7-0 decision on Thursday that limiting
medical consumption to dried pot infringes on liberty protections
under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"Across the country there will be a lot more smiles and a lot less
pain," said Owen Smith, a former baker for the Victoria Cannabis
Buyers Club, whose 2009 arrest spurred the legal challenge.

Smith was charged after police found hundreds of pot cookies and
cannabis-infused olive and grape seed oils in his Victoria apartment.
He was acquitted at trial and won an appeal.

The decision was yet another rebuke of the Harper government's
tough-on-crime agenda.

Not only was it unanimous, but the court made a point of attributing
the written decision to the entire court - something the justices do
when they want to underline a finding.

"The prohibition of non-dried forms of medical marijuana limits
liberty and security of the person in a manner that is arbitrary and
hence is not in accord with the principles of fundamental justice,"
said the written judgment.

The initial trial judge in Smith's case gave the federal government a
year to change the laws around cannabis extracts, but the court said
its ruling takes effect immediately.

Cheryl Rose, whose daughter Hayley takes cannabis for a severe form of
epilepsy, was overjoyed by the decision and said her 22-year-old's
seizures have dropped dramatically.

Under the old law, Hayley had to take 15 capsules of dried cannabis
daily. Now, she will only have to take one concentrated capsule made
with oil.

"Without having extracts available for her, I don't think we'd be able
to keep it up. It's way too much for a person to consume," she said.
"She's finally going to fully have her life back."

Alex Repetski, of Thornhill, Ont., could have been charged with
possession and trafficking for converting dried bud into oil for his
three-year-old daughter, Gwenevere, whose debilitating epilepsy has
left her developmentally delayed.

Since starting on the low-THC marijuana, Gwenevere has seen an
incredible recovery, Repetski said. He no longer fears
prosecution.

But the implications of the ruling for authorized producers is
uncertain, said Eric Paul, who heads Ontario-based licensed marijuana
provider CannTrust Inc.

"Does this mean the legislation gives us the right to provide oral
products or some other form?" asked Paul. "The answer is it's not
clear at the moment."

Limiting medical marijuana use to dried pot "limits life, liberty and
security of the person" in two ways, the court said.

First, the prohibition on possession of cannabis in forms other than
dried pot places a person at risk of imprisonment when they wouldn't
face the same threat if they possessed dried marijuana buds.

It also exposes people with a legitimate need for marijuana to other
potential medical ailments, it stated.

"It subjects the person to the risk of cancer and bronchial infections
associated with smoking dry marijuana and precludes the possibility of
choosing a more effective treatment."

The decision was the latest in a series of rulings by the high court
against the Harper government on a variety of issues, including
unanimously rejecting the ban on providing doctor-assisted death to
mentally competent patients.

Ambrose said she was "outraged" by the marijuana decision.

"The big issue here is the message about normalization," she said.
"The message that judges, not medical experts, judges have decided
something is a medicine."

Ambrose noted that marijuana has never faced a regulatory approval
process through Heath Canada.

"This is not a drug," she said. "This is not a medicine. There's very
harmful effects of marijuana, especially on our youth."
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MAP posted-by: Matt