Pubdate: Mon, 05 Oct 2015
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Ian Mulgrew
Page: A1

MEDICAL MARIJUANA: OK FOR JUDGES, LAWYERS, JURIES?

Side effects: No rules require disclosure when they toke up during a
trial

The B.C. Supreme Courthouse was abuzz - jurors getting high? Lawyers
grabbing a toke? Judges mellowing out? Vancouver's downtown glass
ziggurat of justice might look like an oversized greenhouse, but pot
friendly?

Now that medical marijuana is the talk of the town, with dispensaries
as popular as coffee shops and two mainstream political parties
willing to let people spark up their bongs, the potential side-effects
are becoming more obvious.

What do you do with a juror who has a medical prescription for dope
and insists on using his or her medication during deliberations?

How would you know unless they lit up a doobie in the jury room? Are
we now entitled to an addled panel of our peers?

Similarly, should you have a right to know if your lawyer is playing
the Big Lebowski with his prescription, chewing pot cookies for his
arthritis while negotiating your personal injury claim?

Come on, man, it's a great offer!

How about handling your criminal charge?

Hey, time is elastic - don't be so bummed out.

What about judges relieving the stress and anxiety of a complicated
trial with a little hash oil before writing their judgment? Relax.
Don't worry. Be happy! With Vancouver city council, other
municipalities and B.C.'s pot consuming public racing ahead of federal
law and public policy, the problematic consequences of badly regulated
and unregulated cannabis consumption is an elephant in the room.

I asked the Law Society of B.C. about rules governing medical
marijuana use by lawyers and the discussion within the profession
about rules and guidelines for judges, lawyers, jurors and others
active in the administration of justice.

"The Law Society has no specific rules or guidance with respect to the
use of medical marijuana, but it would be no different than for any
other drug legally prescribed for a medical condition," said David
Jordan, communications officer for the society. "Generally, there is
no obligation to reveal a medical condition to the courts or to a 
regulator."

Hmmm, does that sound like a profession with its head in the
sand?

No different than any other prescription drug and medical condition -
I think the law society forgot the nudge, nudge, wink, wink!

Unlike a pharmaceutical product with known side effects, specific
dosage recommendations, supporting medical research and literature,
the weed poses a huge problem for doctors and they have been vocal
about it.

Cannabis is a plant whose multiple strains contain various compounds
and chemicals whose effects vary depending on the amount consumed and
the manner in which it is consumed or administered.

Its therapeutic benefits are only beginning to be understood. This is
not Valium.

On Friday, B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen
gave one person permission to possess roughly two kilos for personal
use, another permission for a half-kilo.

It's material for another Arlo Guthrie song: "Comin' into the
registry, bringing in a couple of keys!"

Still, Neil MacKenzie, communications counsel for the criminal justice
branch, reassured me about what he called the "hypothetical use of
medical marijuana by prosecutors."

"To the best of my knowledge this is not an issue which the branch has
had to address up to this point," he said. Whew! Although I think that
means no prosecutor has admitted to having a prescription or been
caught in tie-dye.

The feds, who prosecute all the drug charges and all the medical
constitutional cases in court, assumed the same ostrich position.

The Public Prosecution Service said they don't have a policy that
"specifically addresses the consumption of marijuana pursuant to a
Health Canada authorization."

Judges only talk through their decisions so we'll have to wait until
one of them starts quoting Bob Marley - or tries to install a big fan
in his or her chambers like one of the last tobacco addicts on the
bench.

As for jurors, B.C. Justice Minister Suzanne Anton's minions assured
me: "While there is no existing policy on medical marijuana use for
jurors in B.C., it is something that is on the ministry's radar for
discussions in the future." Relax, don't worry, be happy! Your legal
system is in good hands, straight hands.
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MAP posted-by: Matt