Pubdate: Sun, 12 Jan 2003
Source: Halifax Herald (CN NS)
Copyright: 2003 The Halifax Herald Limited
Contact:  http://www.herald.ns.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/180
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

POT LAW RULINGS HAVEN'T CHANGED LIFE FOR SUFFERERS

TORONTO (CP)-- A series of recent court rulings that have left Canada's 
marijuana law in limbo isn't providing relief for those with illnesses, say 
people who need to use the drug for medical reasons.

"Pot possession laws, decriminalization, whatever the government is doing, 
whatever the courts are doing, is not helping us at all," said William 
Palmer, an HIV sufferer, who can legally smoke marijuana for medicinal 
purposes.

"They are still not helping the sick. Where are the priorities here? I 
don't care if they decriminalize it tomorrow, we need pharmacies that can 
sell marijuana and we need them now."

Those who have exemptions from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act 
still have no way to legally procure the drug and don't want to be forced 
to buy pot on the street.

Doctors are still being pressured by powerful associations not to sign 
patient declarations that allow marijuana to be legally smoked for 
medicine. And even a speedy move toward decriminalization won't make a 
difference.

On Thursday a landmark Superior Court decision declared the current 
Marijuana Medicinal Access Regulations unconstitutional, giving the 
government an ultimatum to fix regulations or supply pot.

On Friday, an Ontario judge found there was no law on the books forbidding 
the possession of small amounts of marijuana, following an earlier decision 
in Windsor, Ont.

"These decisions are helping the recreational user but for us, for the 
sick, nothing is being done," Palmer said. "We don't want to turn to the 
street, we want to buy this like any other medicine - in a pharmacy."

The Canadian Medical Protective Association, which provides malpractice 
insurance, continues to advise those physicians who are not or do not feel 
qualified to make assessments about the effects of marijuana to refrain 
from signing a exemption declaration for a patient.

"That would leave very few physicians in Canada who would have the needed 
degree of knowledge," the association's executive director Dr. John Gray 
said. "There haven't been enough trials for us to know what the effects are 
for someone using marijuana who has a condition like epilepsy."

The Canadian Medical Association is urging the federal government to 
develop a national drug strategy if it intends to decriminalize marijuana.
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