Law Times

PAGE 8 An online resource 1.800.263.3269 Focus On CRIMINAL LAW Government fights pot ruling But lawyer believes science will lead to new approach BY KENNETH JACKSON For Law Times O nce again, the coun- try's medicinal mari- juana program is up in the air after an Ontario court deemed portions of the legisla- tion to be unconstitutional. And again, the federal gov- ernment is fi ghting the decision. On April 11, Ontario Su- perior Court Justice Donald Taliano ruled Health Canada is failing to provide access to the drug for those who need it. With his decision, Taliano or- dered the federal government to seek leave to appeal or fi x the system within 90 days. Th e government didn't wait long to react. On April 19, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada issued a press release announcing it had fi led a no- tice of appeal at the Ontario Court of Appeal. Th e government intends to argue that Taliano made errors in his decision. Th e move comes as little surprise for the hundreds of marijuana patients in Ontario be in possession of marijuana since earlier this year due to what she describes as chronic pain. McLean lives in an apart- ment and can't grow her own supply. Still, she doesn't like the marijuana the government sells. She says it's cheap and of- fers little relief for her pain. "I have bought from Health Canada. It's garbage. It's such garbage," says McLean while surrounded by bongs at 420 Kingston, a marijuana para- phernalia store she co-owns on Princess Street that opened last August. She notes that the govern- Photo: Kenneth Jackson Jennawae McLean says she suffers from chronic pain so bad that she needs medical marijuana. and thousands of them across the country. But lawyers like Joseph Neuberger say Taliano hit the nail on the head. "Th ere are signifi cant fl aws in the legislation, which is prevent- ing people who require medical marijuana getting access to the medicine," says Neuberger. He notes that under the current system, it's diffi cult to fi nd doctors who are willing to sign off on prescriptions for medical marijuana and there- fore endorse an application to become an authorized user. Th at authorization is required by Health Canada. Some people also need a specialist to sign. "It's very challenging, and Now Accepting Applications for Classes Starting in September 2011 Part-time, executive LLM program for working lawyers and professionals Application Deadline Extended to June 30, 2011 Taught by U of T Faculty of Law professors, together with top international faculty from INSEAD Business School, NYU School of Law, and Rotman School of Management. Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) - Ontario Chapter. that was a substantial part of Justice Taliano's decision," Neu- berger says. "I represent a num- ber of people who are in this position, and it's an ongoing battle for them to fi nd enough support from the medical fi eld. It's either an intentional boycott [by the medical fi eld] or a gen- eral [discomfort], and that could be partly that the government is not fully behind the program." Health Canada implemented the marijuana medical access regulations in 2001 to allow for people with serious ailments to obtain licences to possess the drug, grow their own plants, and obtain permission to be a designated grower. "Let's say you have your au- TIME: EVENT: Untitled-3 1 For more information and to apply: http://www.law.utoronto.ca/programs/GPLLM.html www.lawtimesnews.com 5/24/11 3:25:06 PM thorization. . . . You could be authorized to grow for your- self, but a lot of people aren't experts in growing marijuana and it's a bit of a hazard to grow it in your house. So you can appoint a designate grower, but they are only authorized to grow for two people and they are not really remunerated for their eff orts," says Neuberger. Bring in 26-year-old Jennawae McLean, who lives in Kingston, Ont. She's had authorization to ment supply comes in 90-gram bundles that arrive each month in a gold bag at $5 per gram. "You are overpaying at $5 a gram," she says. "I use compas- sion clubs straight up. Th ey're the best." Compassion clubs are places where people who need their medicine can get it with little to no hassle but they're not ap- proved by Health Canada. Th ere's one in Kingston and an estimated 200 across the country. "Th e best positive change would be to fully legalize the clubs because they are in a le- gal grey area right now. Th ey are not legal," says McLean. She's not holding out much hope things will change, though. "It is up in the air. Now that we have a Conservative major- ity government, I'm positive we're not going to have any marijuana reform in the next four years or 10 years." Since its inception following a 2000 Ontario Court of Ap- peal ruling that forced the gov- ernment to provide marijuana as medicine, the program has found its way into the courts several times. Taliano's decision eff ective- ly means it will become legal to have and grow marijuana, which means the prohibition against it would be thrown out altogether in Ontario. Th e gov- ernment can also make chang- es to the program to make it easier for medical marijuana patients to obtain the drug. In- stead, it has decided to appeal. According to Taliano, the current system forces people who suff er from serious pain to obtain marijuana through illegal means. His decision stemmed from the criminal case involving 37-year-old Matthew Mernagh, See Courts, page 13 May 30, 2011 • Law TiMes

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