Pubdate: Thu, 10 Apr 2014
Source: Rocky Mountain Goat News, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 The Rocky Mountain Goat
Contact:  http://www.therockymountaingoat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5461
Author: Korie Marshall

HEALTH CANADA TO APPEAL MARIJUANA INJUNCTION

Health Canada announced it will fight the Federal Court's injunction
allowing users of medical marijuana to continue under the old
regulations.

The new federal regulations for marijuana for medical purposes (MMPR)
came into effect last year, but were running concurrently with the old
Medical Marihuana Access Regulations (MMAR), which were to expire
March 31st, 2014. The old program allowed patients to grow their own
marijuana or have someone grow it for them, but these grow ops were
not regulated, and the government and Health Canada claim the system
was open to serious abuse.

The new MMPR program requires patients to purchase their marijuana
from federally-licensed, commercial grow ops. BC lawyer John Conroy
has challenged the new program saying it is a violation of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Conroy represents a group of
medical marijuana users including Neil Allard, and he says under
section seven of the Charter everyone who is medically approved to use
cannabis has a right to reasonable access to it as a medicine for
their health. Conroy and his clients claim the new MMPR will cause
patients who cannot afford black market or licensed producer prices to
have to choose between their liberty (being arrested and charged with
production of marijuana) and their health (accessing the medicine that
works best for their health).

A federal court judge granted Conroy and his clients an injunction on
Friday, March 21, meaning roughly 40,000 Canadians would be allowed to
continue to grow and use their own cannabis until the constitutional
challenge can be heard in court.

But Health Canada announced on March 31 the federal government intends
to appeal the federal court's order in the Allard case.

Health Canada also stated it will "no longer be in the business of
providing marijuana" after April 1, and will no longer be subsidizing
marijuana use. It says it wants to remind Canadians that marijuana is
not an approved drug or medicine, and Health Canada does not endorse
its use.

Health Canada also announced on March 28 that "as a result of ongoing
litigation and uncertainty arising from court decisions," Health
Canada will treat old licenses (Authorizations to Possess,
Personal-Use Production Licences, and Designated-Person Production
Licences) as extending beyond March 31, 2014 until a decision in the
Allard case is made. It says the following criteria must be met -
individuals must have held a valid Authorizations to Possess under the
MMAR on March 21, 2014; and individuals must have held a valid
Personal-Use Production Licence or Designated-Person Production
Licence under the MMAR on, or after, September 30, 2013, where there
is also an associated valid ATP as of March 21, 2014. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D