Cites Similar Cases Thrown Out In Ontario SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. -- A Prince Edward Island judge has stayed a teen's marijuana possession charge, ruling it would be unfair to prosecute him when other Canadians have immunity from the same charge. Provincial Court Judge Ralph C. Thompson stayed the proceedings against the 19-year-old after considering cases in Ontario. The teen was charged with possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana in the fall. In his decision, the judge explained an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling, known as the Parker decision, effectively struck down the law that prohibits simple possession. [continues 119 words]
SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. -- A Prince Edward Island judge stayed a teen's marijuana possession charge, ruling it would be unfair to prosecute him when other Canadians have immunity from the same charge. Provincial Court Judge Ralph C. Thompson stayed proceedings against the 19-year-old on Friday after considering cases in Ontario. The teen was charged with possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana in the fall. Defence lawyer Clifford McCabe argued in a previous hearing the charge should be quashed because it's not a valid offence based on the Ontario cases. [continues 137 words]
It is unconstitutional to outlaw possession of marijuana in Ontario in light of recent court decisions, Windsor lawyer Brian McAllister argued in Superior Court Tuesday. "This is more than a political question, it's a constitutional one," McAllister said outside the Superior Court building after making a detailed presentation citing numerous cases. "The courts have recognized that there's a constitutional right for people who need marijuana for medical purposes to get it. Parliament has refused to address that underlying need." [continues 427 words]
`Up To Politicians To Amend, Revoke, Create New Laws' Even Courts Are Confused About Pot Legislation OTTAWA—Recipe for Reefer Madness. Take: One rookie justice minister who wants to decriminalize simple pot possession. Toss in: Several court rulings that Ottawa must allow medical use and possession of pot. Spike with: Two lower-court acquittals (and counting) of recreational pot smokers by judges who say the law is no longer valid. Bake: At low heat on backburner for too long. Serve up: Confusion for millions. [continues 1193 words]
Medical marijuana advocates in Victoria are enthusiastic that a pair of rulings brought down in Ontario last week will pave the way for a relaxing of possession enforcement here. But the Victoria police department isn't about to change its approach simply because judges in that province not only threw out a simple possession charge against a Windsor teen- ager on a technicality, they for all intents gave the government six months to re-write the law. "The bottom line is, it's a case which has occurred in Ontario and while it may be persuasive to B.C. courts, I wouldn't say they have to follow suit," says Victoria police Deputy Chief Geoff Varley. He adds that since the laws on the books have not changed, the department is under no obligation to change the way it does things. [continues 678 words]
BURLINGTON -- Appearances can be misleading. I'm looking at the face that made her a captain of the cheerleader squad and a model. The face that has the strong bones of her late father. The face that, as we sit here, is wracked from within by a sharp, ugly pain that she tries to dull by pressing her finger harshly against her high cheek -- while lighting up another joint. "It'll help ... just give it time," says the 39-year-old former corrections officer, holding the stubby end of the smoke with a pair of scissors, and taking a drag. [continues 715 words]
Despite Court Ruling, The Law Stands, Says Chief Local News - It's business as usual for Chatham-Kent police when it comes to laying pot possession charges. Police Chief Carl Herder said the service will continue to charge those who possess "small or minor amounts of any type of illegal drug," following a Wednesday drug bust in Chatham. A search warrant executed at a Taylor Avenue residence during the noon hour led to a pot possession charge for a Chatham man. The 27-year-old was allegedly found with 26 grams of marijuana. [continues 337 words]
Lawyers and their clients who persuaded a judge to strike down the medicinal marijuana regulations as unconstitutional were high on yesterday's "bold" landmark ruling. "Canada rules, that's for sure," Warren Hitzig, an applicants in the constitutional challenge, said. "I'm very surprised, extremely ecstatic. The judge made a fantastic decision. I would not have wanted to be in his shoes." "The judge said it's unconstitutional for medical users to use the unconventional measures they had to use," said Hitzig, a founder of the Toronto Compassion Centre, which sold medicinal pot to about 1,500 terminally ill people until it was raided last year. He and three others still face charges. [continues 222 words]
Canada's marijuana laws took another blow yesterday when the Ontario Superior Court ruled that Ottawa's regulations for medical users are unconstitutional because patients have no access to a legal supply of the drug. In a case involving seriously ill Canadians and "compassion clubs" that provide them with marijuana to fight pain, nausea and weight loss, Mr. Justice Sidney Lederman said the federal government must pass regulations within six months to ensure medical users a legal supply or see its entire marijuana-possession law struck down. [continues 448 words]
Forcing users to break law for supply ruled unconstitutional Possession may be legal if Ottawa doesn't find source, experts say Ottawa has been given six months to come up with a way of ensuring sick Canadians have access to medical marijuana - including the possibility of setting up regulated distribution centres - or simple possession of the drug will become legal in Ontario, if not all of Canada, legal experts say. In a long-awaited decision released yesterday, an Ontario Superior Court judge struck down federal rules governing access to medical marijuana, finding them unconstitutional because they force seriously ill people who use pot as medicine to break the law to obtain the drug. [continues 523 words]
WINDSOR, Ont. (CP) - An Ontario Court judge has thrown out a marijuana charge against a 16-year-old boy in a ruling lawyers heralded Thursday as another sign that Canada's pot laws are relaxing. Justice Douglas Phillips dropped the charge after lawyer Brian McAllister argued in court that there is effectively no law prohibiting the possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana. Even though the ruling signals for some the beginning of the end for Canada's prohibition against possessing small amounts of the drug, those who do could still be charged, McAllister said. [continues 698 words]
Pot smokers in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality who think it might be safe to be in possession of small amounts of marijuana should keep their stash well hidden. While there are signs that Canada's marijuana laws are being relaxed, Associated Police Chief Dave Wilson said Friday his officers will be strictly enforcing the current laws of the land which prohibit possession unless the individual is licensed to use the drug for medical purposes. "We will continue to operate in the same way until there is a change in the law," said Wilson, whose officers service the province's second largest municipality. [continues 289 words]
TORONTO -- Ottawa has moved quickly to end uncertainty over Canada's drug laws by appealing an Ontario court ruling last week that threw out a marijuana charge on a technicality. "We were aware of the uncertainty the decision created so we thought we'd move as quickly as possible," federal Justice Department spokes-man Jim Leising said Friday. Leising said the appeal was "expedited" after Justice Douglas Phillips sided Thursday with lawyer Brian McAllister and his client, a Windsor, Ont., teen who was charged last April with possession of marijuana. [continues 177 words]
Until Decision, Drug-Busting As Usual, Officer Says Experts See Signs Pot Laws in Canada Are Relaxing The federal government moved quickly yesterday to quell uncertainty over Canada's drug laws by appealing Thursday's Ontario Court ruling that threw out a marijuana charge on a technicality. "We were aware of the uncertainty the decision created so we thought we'd move as quickly as possible," said federal Justice Department spokesperson Jim Leising. Leising said the appeal was "expedited" after Justice Douglas Phillips sided Thursday with lawyer Brian McAllister and his client, a Windsor teen who was charged last April with possession of marijuana. [continues 538 words]
Feds Move 'As Quickly As Possible' To Quell Uncertainty Over Drug Laws TORONTO -- Ottawa moved quickly yesterday to quell uncertainty over Canada's drug laws by appealing an Ontario Court ruling the day before that threw out a marijuana charge on a technicality. "We were aware of the uncertainty the decision created so we thought we'd move as quickly as possible," said federal Justice Department spokesman Jim Leising. Leising said the appeal was "expedited" after Justice Douglas Phillips sided Thursday with lawyer Brian McAllister and his client, a Windsor, Ont., teen who was charged last April with possession of marijuana. [continues 269 words]
Just one day after a Windsor judge tossed out a marijuana charge on a technicality, a city lawyer yesterday delayed a client's guilty plea until the legal haze over pot possession clears. As the federal government announced it would appeal Thursday's Ontario Court of Justice ruling that the law prohibiting marijuana possession is invalid, Peterborough lawyer Bob Burgis was in court asking Mr. Justice L.T.G. Collins to adjourn the marijuana case of a 19-year-old man until Jan. 24. [continues 546 words]
Court Fight Contradicts Desire To Soften Possession Laws Canada's hazy position on marijuana grew foggier Friday when the federal government said it will fight a court ruling that permits pot smoking just as the Justice Department is making plans to decriminalize simple possession. The government, already reprimanded by the Supreme Court of Canada for its mixed messages, rushed to file an appeal of a court decision this week that threw out a possession charge against a 16-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. [continues 538 words]
OTTAWA -- The federal government has filed an appeal of an Ontario court decision that ruled there are no laws forbidding the possession of small amounts of pot. Jim Leising, the Justice Department's director of prosecution in the province, confirmed yesterday the federal government is appealing so the laws surrounding possession of pot for recreational use will be clarified. "We're hoping the appeal will be heard quickly," said Leising. "Whatever uncertainty that was created by this judgment would be cleared up, and that would mean everyone would be in agreement that the prohibition against possession of marijuana is valid." [continues 107 words]
TORONTO (CP) - The federal government is moving quickly to quell uncertainty over Canada's drug laws by appealing an Ontario Court ruling that threw out a marijuana charge on a technicality. "We were aware of the uncertainty the decision created so we thought we'd move as quickly as possible," federal Justice Department spokesman Jim Leising said Friday. Leising said the appeal was "expedited" following the decision Thursday by Justice Douglas Phillips to side with the teen's lawyer, Brian McAllister, who argued that the law that makes possession of marijuana a criminal offence is effectively invalid in Ontario. [continues 415 words]
OTTAWA -- The federal government has filed an appeal of an Ontario court decision that ruled there are no laws forbidding the possession of small amounts of pot. Jim Leising, the Justice Department's director of prosecution in the province, confirmed yesterday the feds are appealing so the laws surrounding possession of pot for recreation use will be clarified. "We're hoping the appeal will be heard quickly," said Leising, who hopes the Ontario Superior Court will hear the appeal within the next 30 days. [continues 216 words]
Judge Dismisses Possession Case; Lawyer Argues Federal Act Invalid WINDSOR (CP) -- An Ontario judge has thrown out a marijuana charge against a 16-year-old boy in a ruling lawyers heralded yesterday as another sign that Canada's pot laws are relaxing. Mr. Justice Douglas Phillips dropped the charge after lawyer Brian McAllister argued in court there is effectively no law prohibiting the possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana. Even though the ruling signals for some the beginning of the end for Canada's prohibition against possessing small amounts of the drug, those who do could still be charged, McAllister said. [continues 713 words]
Court Tosses Pot Charges Against Teen OTTAWA -- The federal Justice Department is expected to appeal yesterday's Ontario court decision that possession of small amounts of marijuana is not illegal. Jim Leising, the Justice Department's director of prosecution in Ontario, said federal lawyers will move quickly to clarify the laws surrounding possession of pot for recreational use and decide whether to appeal the ruling to the Ontario Superior Court. "It probably will be appealed," Leising said. "Certainly there is a need to ensure the law is clear." [continues 280 words]
Decision Puts Pressure On Ottawa To Make Position Clear WINDSOR, Ont. -- A Windsor judge's ruling that a federal law prohibiting possession of small amounts of marijuana is invalid in Ontario has opened the floodgates for other judges to reach the same conclusion and increased pressure on Ottawa to make its position clear. Ontario Court Justice Douglas Phillips threw out a possession charge against a 16-year-old youth on a legal technicality that is expected to become the basis of numerous other similar applications. [continues 779 words]
Throws Out Case Against Teen; May Force Ottawa To Act WINDSOR (CP)- The hazy state of Canada's marijuana laws became even murkier Thursday when a 16-year-old boy walked out of court after an Ontario judge said there's no law against him having a small amount of pot in his possession. Ontario Court Justice Douglas Phillips ruled that a federal law prohibiting the possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana is invalid in Ontario. In doing so, he opened the floodgates for other judges to reach the same conclusion and increased pressure on Ottawa to make its position clear. [continues 821 words]
Teen Had Small Amount, Judge Throws Out Charge WINDSOR, Ont. -- An Ontario Court judge has thrown out a marijuana charge against a 16-year-old boy in a ruling lawyers heralded yesterday as another sign that Canada's pot laws are relaxing. Justice Douglas Phillips dropped the charge after lawyer Brian McAllister argued in court that there is effectively no law prohibiting the possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana. Even though the ruling signals for some the beginning of the end for Canada's prohibition against possessing small amounts of the drug, those who do could still be charged, McAllister said. [continues 391 words]
Decision Lauded As Another Sign Canada's Marijuana Laws Are Relaxing WINDSOR, Ont. -- An Ontario Court judge has thrown out a marijuana charge against a 16-year-old boy in a ruling lawyers heralded yesterday as another sign that Canada's pot laws are relaxing. Justice Douglas Phillips dropped the charge after lawyer Brian McAllister argued in court that there is effectively no law prohibiting the possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana. Even though the ruling signals for some the beginning of the end for Canada's prohibition against possessing small amounts of the drug, those who do could still be charged, McAllister said. [continues 391 words]
OTTAWA -- The Justice Department will "probably" appeal yesterday's Ontario court decision that ruled there are no laws forbidding the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Jim Leising, the Justice Department's director of prosecution in Ontario, said federal lawyers will move quickly to clarify the laws surrounding possession of pot for recreational use and decide whether to appeal the ruling to the Ontario Superior Court. "It probably will be appealed," Leising said. "Certainly there is a need to ensure the law is clear." [continues 223 words]
WINDSOR, Ont. -- A Windsor judge has ruled that a federal law prohibiting possession of small amounts of marijuana is invalid in Ontario, opening the floodgates for other judges to reach the same conclusion and increasing pressure on the federal government to make its position clear. Ontario Court Justice Douglas Phillips threw out a possession charge against a 16-year-old youth on a legal technicality that is expected to become the basis of numerous other similar applications. The judge accepted lawyer Brian McAllister's argument that the government needed to pass a new law prohibiting marijuana after the current one was struck down by the Ontario Court of Appeal two years ago. [continues 572 words]
Ruling May Spur Decision About Decriminalization A Windsor judge's ruling that a federal law prohibiting marijuana possession is invalid in Ontario has opened the floodgates for other judges to reach the same conclusion and increased pressure on the government to make its position finally clear. Ontario Court Justice Douglas Phillips threw out a marijuana possession charge against a 16-year-old Kingsville youth on a legal technicality that is expected to become the basis of numerous other similar applications. The judge accepted lawyer Brian McAllister's argument that the government needed to pass a new law prohibiting marijuana after the current one was struck down by the Ontario Court of Appeal two years ago. [continues 586 words]
WINDSOR - A judge's ruling that a federal law prohibiting possession of small amounts of marijuana is invalid in Ontario has opened the floodgates for other judges to reach the same conclusion and increased pressure on Ottawa to make its position clear. Ontario Court Justice Douglas Phillips threw out a possession charge against a 16-year-old on a legal technicality that is expected to become the basis of numerous other similar applications. The judge accepted lawyer Brian McAllister's argument that the government needed to pass a new law prohibiting marijuana after the current one was struck down by the Ontario Court of Appeal two years ago. [continues 248 words]
Cultural attitudes evolve slowly, but there is often a tipping point, the moment when the struggle is won. The campaign to decriminalize marijuana may have had its tipping point yesterday, when a judge in Windsor threw out a possession charge against a teenager alleged to have had five grams of pot. The youth's lawyer, citing a July 2000 decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in the Parker case, had argued there was no law against possessing small amounts of marijuana. In that case, the appeal court agreed with an epileptic, Terry Parker, who claimed that marijuana laws violated the rights of sick people who use the drug for medical reasons. It declared the marijuana possession section of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to be invalid and gave legislators 12 months to amend the act. [continues 193 words]
Possessing marijuana is no longer illegal for anyone in Canada, an Ontario judge ruled yesterday. In April, police arrested a 16-year-old truant in a park carrying five grams of it. He was charged with possession of marijuana. Yesterday, he was cleared of that charge when Judge Douglas Phillips of the Ontario Court in Windsor agreed with the young man's defence: Federal laws against marijuana possession are no longer valid. The decision does not bind other judges in similar cases, but defence lawyers are expected to pick up the argument. [continues 625 words]
An Ontario judge found no laws forbid possession of small amounts of marijuana. OTTAWA -- The Justice Department "probably" will appeal yesterday's Ontario court ruling there are no laws forbidding possession of small amounts of marijuana. Jim Leising, the Justice Department's director of prosecution in Ontario, said federal lawyers will move quickly to clarify the laws surrounding possession of pot for recreational use and decide whether to appeal the ruling to the Ontario Superior Court. "It probably will be appealed," Leising said. "Certainly there is a need to ensure the law is clear." [continues 323 words]
WINDSOR, ONT. - A judge in Windsor, Ont., has ruled that Canada's law on possession of small amounts of marijuana is no longer valid. Justice Douglas Phillips made the ruling when he dismissed two drug charges against a 16-year-old local boy. In his ruling, Phillips said Parliament has failed to address problems with Canada's marijuana laws. In July 2000, the Ontario Court of Appeal struck down a federal law prohibiting the possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana. [continues 148 words]
WINDSOR, Ont. -- An Ontario Court judge threw out a marijuana charge against a 16-year-old boy Thursday in a decision lawyers say could soon spell the end of Canada's prohibition on possessing small amounts of pot. Justice Douglas Phillips dropped the charge after lawyer Brian McAllister argued in court that there is effectively no law in Canada prohibiting the possession of 30 grams of marijuana or less. McAllister warned that even though the ruling could be precedent-setting, anyone possessing small amounts of marijuana could still be charged. [continues 383 words]
Simple Possession Not Illegal, Lawyer Says New Federal Rules Allow Medical Use WINDSOR--An Ontario judge says he will rule next week on the question of whether Canada's laws that make it illegal to possess small amounts of marijuana are invalid. Ontario Court Justice Douglas Phillips said he will have a decision Thursday in the case of a 16-year-old youth who was charged in April with possession of marijuana. Phillips heard legal arguments yesterday by lawyer Brian McAllister, who is representing the youth, and federal drug prosecutor Ed Posliff. McAllister brought forward an application to have the drug charges dropped, asserting the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act no longer prohibits the simple possession of marijuana by virtue of an earlier decision in the Ontario Court of Appeal. In that case, the appeal court struck down the federal law prohibiting the possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana. [continues 218 words]
Crown Claims Possession Is A Crime Except With Medical Authorization Windsor, Ont. - An Ontario judge says he will rule next week on the question of whether Canada's laws that make it illegal to possess small amounts of marijuana are invalid. Ontario Court Justice Douglas Phillips said he will have a decision Jan. 2 in the case of a 16-year-old youth who was charged in April with possession of marijuana. Phillips heard legal arguments Friday by lawyer Brian McAllister, who is representing the youth, and federal drug prosecutor Ed Posliff. [continues 379 words]
Decision Expected Jan. 2 in Marijuana Possession Case Windsor, Ont. - An Ontario judge says he will rule next week on the question of whether Canada's laws that make it illegal to possess small amounts of marijuana are invalid. Ontario Court Justice Douglas Phillips said he will have a decision Jan. 2 in the case of a 16-year-old youth who was charged in April with possession of marijuana. Phillips heard legal arguments Friday by lawyer Brian McAllister, who is representing the youth, and federal drug prosecutor Ed Posliff. [continues 379 words]
Greco Cites Case Challenging Law That Makes It Crime To Retain Small Amounts Of Marijuana A Sault Ste. Marie judge is refusing to deal with possession of marijuana charges pending the outcome of a trial in southern Ontario. Ontario Court Justice James Greco told lawyers in his court Friday he will not accept guilty pleas or conduct trials on simple possession. "There is a question in my mind and other judges (not locally) whether provisions of the narcotics act are effective in the province of Ontario," he said. [continues 321 words]
Medical Marijuana Club Activists Launch Order-By-Web Site After Judge In Quebec Stays Possession And Trafficking Charges MONTREAL -- Pot in Canada may soon be a click away with the launch of a home-delivery service for medical marijuana over the Internet. Marijuana activists in Montreal announced the start-up of http://www.marijuanahomedelivery.ca shortly after a Quebec judge threw out possession and trafficking charges yesterday against two volunteers at a medical marijuana club. Quebec Court Judge Gilles Cadieux said authorizing those who are ill to use marijuana in Canada while depriving them of a legal source violates the right to life and liberty under the Charter. [continues 684 words]
A Windsor lawyer's challenge of the law that makes it a crime to possess small amounts of marijuana could have widespread repercussions if he is successful, a judge said Wednesday. Brian McAllister is arguing that his 16-year-old client should be acquitted of possessing marijuana because the law is invalid. Ontario Court Justice Douglas Phillips declined to hear arguments in the case Wednesday, saying the provincial and federal attorney generals offices should be given more time to decide whether they will intervene. [continues 461 words]
Canadians who want exemptions under Canada's Medical Marijuana Access Regulations (MMAR), cannot find doctors to support their applications. Canadian doctors have refused to support MMAR applications after provincial colleges of physicians and surgeons across the country told doctors not to sign the required forms. When doctors inquire at the college, they are told they cannot fill the required forms anymore. The whole Canadian government medical marijuana program is nothing more than a flat-out lie, set up just to keep the courts from striking down the marijuana prohibition laws. [continues 58 words]
Toronto - The right to smoke marijuana for medicinal reasons is no more enshrined in the Charter of Rights than the right to smoke crack cocaine, lawyers for the federal government argued Friday. Yet that's the legal logic of a group of chronically ill Canadians who are in court to challenge the rules governing Ottawa's medical pot program, said federal lawyer Lara Speirs. Their argument "dilutes" the guarantee in Section 7 of the charter to life, liberty and security of the person "to the point of absurdity," Speirs told Superior Court Justice Sydney Lederman. [continues 409 words]
TORONTO -- The right to smoke marijuana for medicinal reasons is no more enshrined in the Charter of Rights than the right to smoke crack cocaine, lawyers for the federal government argued yesterday. Yet that's the legal logic of a group of chronically ill Canadians who are in court to challenge the rules governing Ottawa's medical pot program, said federal lawyer Lara Speirs. Their argument "dilutes" the guarantee in Section 7 of the Charter to life, liberty and security of the person "to the point of absurdity," Speirs told Superior Court Justice Sydney Lederman. [continues 493 words]
A group challenging Canadian rules hasn't a logical reason, federal lawyers argue. TORONTO -- The right to smoke marijuana for medicinal reasons is no more enshrined in the Charter of Rights than the right to smoke crack cocaine, lawyers for the federal government argued yesterday. Yet that's the legal logic of a group of chronically ill Canadians who are in court to challenge the rules governing Ottawa's medical pot program, said federal lawyer Lara Speirs. Their argument "dilutes" the guarantee in Section 7 of the Charter to life, liberty and security of the person "to the point of absurdity," Speirs told Superior Court Justice Sydney Lederman. [continues 365 words]
Some Balk At Idea That 16-year-olds Could Legally Use Marijuana A broad swath of Canadians -- doctors, patients and activists -- praised a Senate committee yesterday for its report recommending relaxed marijuana laws. Some said they are not comfortable with the suggestion from the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs that marijuana and hashish should be entirely legalized. Others said that the report did not go far enough. But nearly everybody agreed that pot smokers are not criminals. "It's about time," said Terry Parker, an epileptic who is famous among marijuana activists for winning a court battle two years ago that forced the federal government to legalize marijuana for some sick people. [continues 502 words]
Re: Medical Marijuana, A. Anne McLellan, Letters, Aug. 29 (Re: Medical Marijuana Plan Still on Track, Health Minister Says, Aug. 27.) Twenty dollars says this huge announcement that Minister McLellan made was predicated by a VERY urgent phone call from her old co-workers in the Department of Justice, mentioning that it's very likely that a judge could issue an injunction stopping enforcement of ALL cannabis possession laws in Ontario. Because of the Terry Parker ruling by the Supreme Court of Ontario, (which was never appealed by Ms. McLellan when she was justice minister), Health Canada was to have an effective, workable distribution network for Section 56 medicinal cannabis consumers by Aug. 1, 2001, or else face legalization in Ontario. [continues 120 words]
It was refreshing to hear an honestly conservatively stated point of view in Greg Neiman's editorial on marijuana laws. What made this editorial conservative was the fact that the case referred to was that of Terry Parker Jr. The reasoning of the case went like this: since this man, Parker, had to chose between his health and the law, the law is unconstitutional. It declared this in July of 2000. It set aside judgement for one year in order for the government to change the law so that Parker and other people like him could receive a legal supply of cannabis. [continues 185 words]
Thousands of Canadians who suffer from various health problems still want to smoke pot to help them handle the symptoms and the pain. The only thing that's changed about medical marijuana issue in Canada this week is Ottawa's mind - health Minister Anne McLellan's decision to stop supplying marijuana for medical purposes until such time clinical trials are complete. So in the meantime patients who rely on cannabis to ease their pain will continue to be between a rock and a hard place: having the ability to legally own pot, but not being allowed to buy it without breaking the law. This isn't a very enlightened or compassionate - or sensible - policy. [continues 578 words]
Uneasy McLellan Backs Off Plan To Supply Patients With Federally Grown Marijuana Canada's Health Minister has all but snuffed out the government's much-ballyhooed plans to supply marijuana as medicine. Anne McLellan says that she feels uncomfortable with the idea of people smoking pot to relieve pain, and that Ottawa will not distribute marijuana for medicinal purposes until clinical trials are completed -- trials that have yet to begin. Ending months of silence and speculation that the federal government may be backing away from its controversial $5.7-million project to grow "medicinal-grade" marijuana, Ms. McLellan made her comments yesterday while speaking to doctors at the annual meeting of the Canadian Medical Association in Saint John. [continues 854 words]
