Pubdate: Thu, 14 Apr 2011 Source: Niagara Falls Review, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2011 Osprey Media Group Inc. Contact: http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/feedback1/LetterToEditor.aspx Website: http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2907 Author: Peter Downs, QMI Agency MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATE CELEBRATES LEGAL VICTORY The man in the middle of a court case that could see Canada's pot laws go up in smoke celebrated the landmark ruling by turning his green thumbs back to cultivating medical marijuana. St. Catharines native Matthew Mernagh said he planted some germinated marijuana seeds Tuesday night, hours after learning a judge threw out pot production and possession charges against him and deemed the federal medical marijuana program unconstitutional. "I'm starting already," Mernagh said Wednesday morning. "There's no reason for me to wait. I'm exempt from the marijuana law. I'm not going to wait." Mernagh, 37, who now lives in Toronto, said he was still struggling to come to grips with the fact he had won a three-year legal battle and that the ruling might pave the way for people across the country to get easier access to pot for medicinal purposes. "It looks like it's really going to benefit a lot of people. It's just unbelievable," he said. "It's just starting to sink in." In a 109-page written judgement, St. Catharines Superior Court Judge Donald Taliano found Canada's medical marijuana program fails to give legal access to sick people who need the drug, largely because many family doctors refuse to endorse the required paperwork on behalf of patients. Taliano struck down Canada's laws against possessing and growing marijuana as part of the ruling and gave Ottawa three months to overhaul the medical marijuana program or effectively legalize possession and production of pot. Mernagh, who suffers from severe osteoarthritis, was also granted exemption from marijuana production and possession laws while the government fixes the medical pot program. The judge also permanently stayed charges against Mernagh, stemming from his 2008 arrest when Niagara police seized 70 pot plants from his St. Catharines apartment. "It's a personal victory, but the judge has said (to the government) you've got 90 days to fix this," Mernagh said. "They're going to have to deal with this and they're going to have to deal with it in a positive way." Mernagh, a marijuana rights activist and blogger, vowed to celebrate his victory in his hometown by parading along the city's main downtown street with a crop of pot. "When I come back down to St. Catharines, I'm going to be marching down St. Paul St. with pot plants. I'm getting a wagon and I'm putting pot plants on it," he said. "It'll be fun. I'm hoping other people come out and join us. There will be some parading." Minister of Justice and Attorney General Rob Nicholson said the government is "disturbed" by the ruling, but a decision on whether or not to appeal it will be left to the Public Prosecution Service. "My own view of this is that while the courts have said there must be reasonable access to marijuana for medical purposes, we believe this must be done in a controlled fashion to ensure public safety," the Niagara Falls incumbent candidate said. The ruling will not lead the Conservative government to consider legalization of marijuana, he said. "We do not believe in decriminalization. It's one of those issues that separates political parties in this country," Nicholson said. Niagara Regional Police will continue enforcing marijuana laws currently on the books, Deputy Chief Joe Matthews said. "My understanding is the law stands for three months and the (judge) has given the government three months to come up with some changes. From an enforcement perspective, nothing has changed," he said. Matthews noted the judge found flaws with the federal government's marijuana laws, not the way the NRP put together its case when it charged Mernagh three years ago. "There are some complexities to this law, certainly, because of the exemptions granted to people who receive medical authorization," he said. "We'll wait and see what the government needs to do to fix that." Another person watching closely is Richard West, who operates the Niagara Seed and Vapor Lounge in Niagara Falls. It sells marijuana and marijuana seeds to people across the country who are licenced through the government's medical marijuana program. West, who claims to be one of the largest producers of medical pot in Canada, is facing similar marijuana possession and production charges in Norfolk to the ones that were stayed for Mernagh. He said he's hopeful Taliano's ruling will influence the outcome of his own case and will also open up access to medical pot for those who could benefit from it. "Unfortunately for us, the only thing the government understands is the almighty dollar and bad press," he said. Mernagh's lawyer, Paul Lewin, said he's convinced the testimony of more than 20 patients who have been unable to get their hands on medical marijuana was the key to convincing the judge to order the program overhaul. One witness from British Columbia testified he tried to get 37 family doctors to sign off on his paperwork to access medical marijuana and was turned down by them all. "They had some tough and tragic stories," Lewin said. "These were very sick people." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.