Pubdate: Fri, 12 Jun 2015
Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Prince George Citizen
Contact:  http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350
Authors: Geordon Omand & Terry Pedwell
Page: 15
Referenced: Supreme Court Judgment (R. v. Smith): 
http://mapinc.org/url/d2dzMbjW

SUPREME COURT RULES MEDICINAL MARIJUANA FOOD PRODUCTS LEGAL

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled unanimously that medical 
marijuana can be legally consumed in products such as cookies, 
brownies and teas, a decision that "outraged" the federal government 
but elated the baker at the centre of the case.

Federal regulations had previously stipulated that authorized users 
of physician prescribed cannabis could only consume dried marijuana.

But the high court said in a 7-0 decision on Thursday that limiting 
medical consumption to dried pot infringes on liberty protections 
under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"Across the country there will be a lot more smiles and a lot less 
pain," said Owen Smith, a former baker for the Victoria Cannabis 
Buyers Club, whose 2009 arrest spurred the legal challenge.

Smith was charged after police found hundreds of pot cookies and 
cannabis-infused olive and grape seed oils in his Victoria apartment.

He was acquitted at trial and won an appeal.

The decision was yet another rebuke of the Harper government's 
tough-on-crime agenda.

Not only was it unanimous, but the court made a point of attributing 
the written decision to the entire court - something the justices do 
when they want to underline a finding.

"The prohibition of non-dried forms of medical marijuana limits 
liberty and security of the person in a manner that is arbitrary and 
hence is not in accord with the principles of fundamental justice," 
said the written judgement.

The initial trial judge in Smith's case gave the federal government a 
year to change the laws around cannabis extracts, but the court said 
its ruling takes effect immediately.

Cheryl Rose, whose daughter Hayley takes cannabis for a severe form 
of epilepsy, was overjoyed by the decision and said her 22-year-old's 
seizures have dropped dramatically.

Under the old law, Hayley had to take 15 capsules of dried cannabis 
daily. Now, she will only have to take one concentrated capsule made with oil.

"Without having extracts available for her, I don't think we'd be 
able to keep it up. It's way too much for a person to consume," she 
said. "She's finally going to fully have her life back."

Alex Repetski, of Thornhill, Ont., could have been charged with 
possession and trafficking for converting dried bud into oil for his 
three-year-old daughter, Gwenevere, whose debilitating epilepsy has 
left her developmentally delayed.

Since starting on the low-THC marijuana, Gwenevere has seen an 
incredible recovery, Repetski said. He no longer fears prosecution. 
But the implications of the ruling for authorized producers is 
uncertain, said Eric Paul, who heads Ontario-based licensed marijuana 
provider CannTrust Inc.

"Does this mean the legislation... gives us the right to provide oral 
products or some other form?" asked Paul. "The answer is it's not 
clear at the moment."

Limiting medical marijuana use to dried pot "limits life, liberty and 
security of the person" in two ways, the court said.

First, the prohibition on possession of cannabis in forms other than 
dried pot places a person at risk of imprisonment when they wouldn't 
face the same threat if they possessed dried marijuana buds.

It also exposes people with a legitimate need for marijuana to other 
potential medical ailments, it stated.

"It subjects the person to the risk of cancer and bronchial 
infections associated with smoking dry marijuana and precludes the 
possibility of choosing a more effective treatment."

Ambrose said she was "outraged" by the marijuana decision.

"The big issue here is the message about normalization," she said. 
"The message that judges, not medical experts, judges have decided 
something is a medicine."

Ambrose noted that marijuana has never faced a regulatory approval 
process through Heath Canada.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom