Pubdate: Fri, 12 Jun 2015 Source: Metro (Ottawa, CN ON) Copyright: 2015 Metro Contact: http://www.metronews.ca/Ottawa Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4032 Author: Michael Woods Page: 4 Referenced: Supreme Court Judgment (R. v. Smith): http://mapinc.org/url/d2dzMbjW POT USERS APPLAUD NEW RULING Top Court Has Expanded Ways to Consume the Drug Local medical marijuana users are applauding a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that expands the ways licensed patients can consume the drug, including one couple who say they no longer need to be looking over their shoulder. Russell Barth and his wife Christine Lowe are both licensed medical marijuana users. Barth suffers from fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, and Lowe suffers from epilepsy. Both also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Barth said this ruling is a big deal for them because as Lowe's caregiver, he treats her seizures using a vaping pen and cannabis concentrate oil referred to as "shatter," or dabbing wax. It's the most effective treatment for her seizures because she can inhale a large amount of cannabis at once, he said. "Having this device and this substance available to us has thwarted countless big seizures," he said. Until Thursday's ruling, federal regulations only allowed medical marijuana users to consume dry marijuana. But now, medical marijuana can legally be consumed in a range of ways - from cannabis-infused cookies and brownies to cooking oils and tea. He said his wife has five or six seizures a month and he needs to react quickly, even if they're in a public place like on a bus or at the grocery store. "The last thing I need during one of those sessions of me trying to bring her back is a security guard or some cop giving me a hard time about it," he said. Until Thursday, that was a really big fear of his, he said. "Now I don't have to worry about it as much as I did," he added. "This reduces a lot of my apprehension going out in public." with files from The Canadian Press - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom