Pubdate: Thu, 31 Jul 2014
Source: Georgia Straight, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 The Georgia Straight
Contact:  http://www.straight.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1084
Author: Michael McCubbin

REASONABLE DOUBT: LIAM MCKNIGHT AND CANADA'S MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAWS

LIAM MCKNIGHT HAS Dravet syndrome. Clinically, it is known as severe
myoclonic epilepsy of infancy.

It is a rare form of epilepsy that causes severe and frequent
seizures. It also leads to an increase in risk of sudden death among
children. There are also a number of collateral restrictions to a
child's cognitive and physical development. Treatment options are
limited. Prognosis is poor.

Liam is six years old. He is Canada's youngest medical marijuana
user.

The day before Liam began using marijuana, he had 67 violent seizures,
each lasting three to four minutes. In the 10 days after he began
using it, he had one small seizure. He was riding horses, going on
boat rides, and doing all the regular stuff you'd hope a six year-old
gets to do. Google him. He gives the Jerry Maguire kid a run for his
money.

Medical marijuana has exploded in use in recent years in Canada.
Anyone who has paid attention to the number of dispensaries and retail
shops has probably noticed this.

It's a controversial medicine. There are few double-blind studies
confirming its efficacy, although many medical experts staunchly stand
behind it.

Users also face significant stereotypes associated with it, most
notably, that the licence is really just a ruse to be able to legally
get high all day. I have little doubt that some abuse this, but there
are many people who abuse pharmaceuticals as well.

Is Liam Canada's youngest pothead?

Far from it.

THC is well known as the chemical in marijuana that induces the
euphoric feeling most recreational users seek. However, Liam isn't
chasing a high. For him, the chemical in marijuana which helps treat
his seizures is cannabidiol (CBD).

In fact, Liam's parents go to great length to avoid exposing him to
THC. They receive 150 grams per month from a licensed producer. From
their home in Ottawa, they ship that to a lab in Montreal to have the
CBD extracted from the marijuana into an oil that can be used in
cooking. From there, the oil is shipped to them in Ottawa. They then
ship it to another lab right here in B.C., where the oil is tested to
ensure that it contains no THC and CBD in the correct concentration
before being shipped back to Ottawa for Liam to orally ingest.

It drastically improves the life of a kid who never deserved his lot
in life.

Liam's parents and both labs doing this are breaking the law. Serious
laws. They are trafficking drugs and possessing large quantities of
marijuana. They are exposed to criminal liability under the Controlled
Drugs and Substances Act.

Why? Because the laws around medical marijuana only allow a licensed
user to possess marijuana in a dried vegetative form. When they
possess it in oil form, they are not doing so under the terms of their
authorization.

This issue was litigated in B.C. in 2012. The federal government
fought back, hard. The trial lasted four weeks over the course of
three months.

How did the government attempt to justify the law allowing one to
possess dried marijuana, but not oils infused with marijuana?

In that case, it trotted out some obviosuly questionable claims that
the compassion club had made that marijuana could heal broken bones in
dogs, among other things. For some reason, they disregarded that such
claims could equally be applied to dried marijuana as easily as to
oil. They also ignored that the federal government had elected to not
regulate marijuana in the same way as other natural health products
are regulated under the Natural Health Products Regulations or the
Canada Consumer Safety Product Act.

The Crown also argued that the claimants only wanted to eat tasty
cookies.

Not surprisingly, these arguments were put to rest quite quickly when
the court addressed the arbitrariness of such restrictions, the fact
that marijuana can be hazardous to one's cardiovascular health when
smoked, and that many of the benefits are negated by smoking.

And, in Liam's case, because consuming dried marijuana when eating or
smoking it does not remove the THC, it would mean that Liam might have
to get high every day to prevent his seizures, depending, of course,
on how quickly his little body develops a tolerance for the stuff.

The Supreme Court of B.C. shot down the government's legal distinction
in 2012 and an appeal died when the government amended the laws this
spring, making the issue largely moot (although the same or similar
argument can easily be made).

For some reason, the government ignored, somewhat conveniently, the
Supreme Court of B.C. ruling that there should be no distinction
between the right to possess marijuana in dried form versus oil form.

So, Liam's parents forge ahead, breaking the law to do what any parent
would do for their child. The government, by its conduct, appears to
insist that Liam has to take his lumps. Beyond that, the additional
cost associated with the two labs is a monumental cost to Liam's
family, which already has to pay $1,200 per month to obtain dried marijuana.

For more information on Liam's plight, follow him on Twitter:  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D