Pubdate: Wed, 08 Jul 2015
Source: Oshawa Express, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Dowellman Publishing Corp
Contact:  http://www.oshawaexpress.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5299
Author: Graeme McNaughton

SMOKING FOR GOOD HEALTH

Marko Ivancicevic isn't afraid to admit that he's a regular marijuana
smoker. Whether the former Oshawa resident is smoking in the garage of
his new Pickering home or in public, Ivancicevic isn't bashful of
smoking an illegal substance.

Except for him, the substance isn't illegal - he has a
prescription.

Ivancicevic, who has been smoking marijuana medically for the past 12
years, has become an advocate for making the practice more acceptable
and accessible, something he has learned the benefits of after
switching from prescription drugs to marijuana.

"For me, I have several different medical conditions for which I've
had operations over the years. So for me, I was taking things like
Percocet, morphine, codeine, Demeral and a whole slew of other highly
addictive pharmaceuticals. For myself, it didn't really allow me to
have a quality of life," Ivancicevic tells The Oshawa Express. "When I
was consuming those kinds of medications, it had such an overbearing
effect on me that it didn't allow me to, let's say, be a part of the
community as I am now. (The pills) enabled me to stay home a lot more,
it allowed me really not be a part of the community at all. So when I
transitioned into using marijuana more therapeutically, if you will, I
was able to get off of those other narcotic medications and I was able
to increase the enjoyment and quality of my life."

Now the chair of the medical marijuana working group for the city's
accessibility advisory committee, Ivancicevic works to keep city
council afloat on the latest news about medical marijuana, the latest
of which came in a Supreme Court decision earlier this month.

Edibles now legal

The Supreme Court of Canada unanimously found that edibles - ways of
ingesting medical marijuana through ways other than smoking, such as
candies and oils - was now legal.

The court's decision strikes down sections 4 and 5 of the Controlled
Drug and Substances Act, which prohibits the possession and sale of
non-dried forms of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

"It's a very exciting decision for a lot of medical marijuana patients
in Canada. I think in retrospect, looking back on how the legality on
edibles=C2=85or other forms of being able to use medical marijuana was ki
nd
of out of touch considering how a lot of things have been going on
down south," Ivancicevic tells The Oshawa Express, referencing recent
moves by some American states to make medical and, in some cases,
recreational marijuana more accessible. "So I think for us, as
patients, it's a very glorious decision for us to be able to
understand that we no longer have to worry about being seen as
criminals under the eyes of the law for consuming marijuana in other
forms."

The Supreme Court case stems from the 2009 arrest of Owen Smith, who
worked as a baker for the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, when he was
found with more than 200 cookies and 26 jars of liquid infused with
cannabis. Smith argued the law under which he was arrested was
unconstitutional, something which a court in British Columbia agreed.
His case was later appealed by the federal government, taking the case
to the Supreme Court. This latest decision by the Supreme Court
upholds the lower court's decision.

Rona Ambrose, the federal health minister, slammed the court's
decision, saying that "this expansion of a pre-existing court-imposed
program to now include cookies and candies makes marijuana more
attractive and accessible to youth and reflects Justin Trudeau's
campaign to legalize and normalize marijuana" in a prepared statement.

Ivancicevic says opposition such as this from the ruling Conservative
Party is hardly a surprise.

"At the end of the day, the Conservative's health minister will always
have something negative to say about medical marijuana. She's been
quoted in the past many a time for saying that it has no medicinal
value as it's not currently regulated in the sense that other drugs
are," he says. "But at the end of the day, it's another favourable
court decision for us, it's an opportunity for people to learn about
how medical marijuana can be used in different ways. I think this will
also open a greater discussion over the fact that people are starting
to learn more about its medicinal values and how it can be applied
other than smoked."

Smoking up in Oshawa

Ivancicevic, outside of being the chair for the working group on
medical marijuana, works on advocating the use of the drug for
therapeutic purposes, something he says is becoming more prevalent in
today's society.

"As time goes, we see the number of people in Canada that are legal to
use marijuana increase. The numbers will continue to increase as the
years go on," he says. "It also has to do with the fact that doctors
are becoming a little bit more in tune with the medicinal benefits of
marijuana so they're now trying it as an alternative option for many
people who have used pharmaceuticals over the years."

Closer to home, Ivancicevic says Oshawa has shown itself to be ahead
of many other places in Canada on the issue, but that there is still
more that can be done.

"There's been a lot of progress. I'd say they're a little ahead of the
curve, but there are municipalities that are more supportive of the
idea that medical marijuana can create jobs for the municipality," he
says, later mentioning an application earlier this year for the
establishment of a growing facility for medical marijuana in Oshawa.
"I'd say as a council, they've made a lot of good strides, especially
with the (medical marijuana) education and training session (in
March). That wouldn't have happened four years ago."
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MAP posted-by: Matt