Pubdate: Sat, 05 Mar 2016
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Page: A22

COURT'S RULING ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA MAKES SENSE

Anything that begins a gradual process of decriminalizing a behaviour
in which millions of Canadians have participated without harm to
themselves or others is probably welcome.

So we should greet with cautious optimism a recent decision by the
courts to circumscribe what Judge Michael Phelan ruled are "arbitrary
and overbroad" provisions in federal law barring medical marijuana
patients from growing their own cannabis.

It's not as though the judge's reasoning in the case was radical.
According to federal statistics about 40 per cent of Canadians have
used marijuana at some point in their lives, although the number that
have done so in the past 12 months falls to about 10 per cent. And
yet, lest anyone think there's a vast pent-up demand, federal surveys
also report that the number of Canadian users fell by more than 11 per
cent over the past decade or so.

Still, caution seems prudent for governments considering policy for
regulating production, distribution and use. Marijuana is a potent
drug, whether used for medical or recreational purposes and whether
grown legally or illegally. Regardless of the proselytizing by
marijuana enthusiasts who promote it as entirely benign, the research
literature points to risks that demand management. Evidence suggests
smoking marijuana carries respiratory risks similar to those tobacco
smokers face although researchers still haven't determined whether
there's a similarly elevated risk for lung cancer. And, like alcohol,
another drug widely used for medicinal and recreational purposes,
marijuana use during pregnancy has been linked to brain and
behavioural problems in babies.

That being said, benefits of medical marijuana use can be weighed
against risks. Since we don't have a problem doing so with alcohol,
why shy from doing so with cannabis?

Home production of marijuana for medical purposes does raise questions
about quality control. How would pharmaceutical content be determined
or standardized? Are regulated distributors better positioned to
address these issues than backyard gardeners? On the other hand, we
already permit home manufacturing of alcohol under limited conditions
which preclude commercial distribution. So why not marijuana, too,
applying the same constraints?

That's why, cautions notwithstanding, the federal government should
not appeal what's generally a sensible judicial decision acknowledging
the present reality. Rather, government should work diligently with
patients, the public, medical professionals, regulatory and
enforcement agencies to devise a regulatory framework appropriate to
permitting a humane, practical and prudent way to put medical cannabis
in the hands of patients who want to grow their own without a surfeit
of red tape. Most, likely won't. They will still want to buy from
commercial distributors. So that needs to be revisited, too.

Accommodating this sensible court decision can also provide a kind of
social research laboratory for testing models for decriminalizing
recreational marijuana use to get it off the black market, out of the
hands of criminal profiteers, and regulated.

When it comes to pot, perhaps it's time to accept the right of
individuals to weigh risks against benefits in a safety-conscious,
regulated environment as they already do with alcohol.
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MAP posted-by: Matt