Pubdate: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 Source: Ottawa Citizen (Canada) Copyright: 1999 The Ottawa Citizen Contact: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/ Author: Hollie Shaw TOKING IS THE ONLY MEANS FOR MAN TO CONTROL SEIZURES, LAWYERS SAY TORONTO (CP) - No legal drug helps an epileptic man control his seizures better than a puff of marijuana, Ontario's highest court heard Friday. "There is no question that Terry Parker receives therapeutic benefit from marijuana," defence lawyer Aaron Harnett argued. But Crown lawyer Kevin Wilson told the Ontario Court of Appeal that denying Parker marijuana doesn't violate his Charter rights because there's no conclusive evidence he can't control his seizures through legal means - a synthetic version of an active ingredient in pot. Harnett and defence co-counsel Richard Macklin accused Wilson of being pedantic. "(Wilson) is speculating about a man's life in making an academic argument for synthetic THC," Macklin told the three-judge panel hearing the Crown's appeal of a watershed 1997 ruling. In that ruling, Judge Patrick Sheppard stayed charges of marijuana cultivation and possession against Parker, 44, after finding sections of Canada's marijuana law violated his rights to liberty and security and were therefore unconstitutional. In his arguments, Harnett accused Wilson of seizing on a study of synthetic THC Parker had participated in and drawing his own conclusions from it. Evidence at his trial showed Parker didn't achieve any benefit from the legal, synthetic form of THC - the psychoactive component in marijuana, the lawyer told the appellate court. But Wilson had argued on Thursday that because Parker had suffered only one seizure during the nine-week study, synthetic THC could possibly prevent the attacks. Harnett also noted that Parker's criminal trial was told he likely needed CBD, a compound present only in smoked marijuana, to control his terrible seizures. One doctor told the trial that mounting scientific evidence suggested CBD, which doesn't make pot smokers high, is a better anti-convulsant than THC and is best obtained from smoking marijuana. The defence says if Parker is deprived of his weed, he can have 15-80 serious seizures a week. He has had two frontal lobotomies and a battery of experimental drug treatments with little success. Smoking marijuana in conjunction with his regular epilepsy drugs is the best way to control his seizures, his lawyers say. Parker hasn't applied for the federal exemptions given to 16 medical marijuana users this year, although his 1997 victory was considered a crucial factor in persuading Parliament to take action on the issue. Health Minister Allan Rock announced Wednesday that Health Canada will fund trials and longer-term research on the therapeutic value of smoking pot. The judges reserved their decision. - --- MAP posted-by: manemez j lovitto