Monopoly On Pot Fought

[Jim Finnel]

It's a marijuana "monopoly" that deserves to go up in smoke, activists say.

Lawyers representing a group of 30 medicinal marijuana users will be in court Monday to fight the federal government's bid to keep control of large-scale medicinal pot distribution in Canada.

Activists say the government-issued pot is weak.

They say Health Canada's regulation that forbids licensed pot growers from providing weed to more than one sick person at a time is unfair and arbitrary.

Currently, government-issue pot is only grown by one company, Prairie Plant Systems in Manitoba.

Any licensed medicinal marijuana user who doesn't have an exclusive grower that only provides pot to them -- and them only -- is restricted to smoking the government bud.

The group of 30 patients wanted to all get their medicinal weed from a small-scale provider called Carousel but were unable to because of the federal regulation, so they took their battle to the courts.

Justice department lawyers will argue the government's appeal of a decision early this January by Federal Court Justice Barry Strayer, who awarded the patients a victory by ruling against the federal policy.

Strayer concluded the Health Canada regulation was unconstitutional.

But despite Strayer's ruling, the federal restriction still stands. The federal government got a stay of the judgment while the case was under appeal.

Alan Young, one of the lawyers for the 30 patients, said the patients want more freedom to choose their own medicinal marijuana without being forced to smoke the government's crop.

If the appeal is denied after Monday's one-day hearing at the Federal Court of Appeal, patients will enjoy greater access to medicinal marijuana without having to worry about being the sole client of the grower, Young said.

However, Young added if the federal government loses the appeal, it's possible they could take their case to the Supreme Court.


News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2008 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: torsun.editor@sunmedia.ca
Website: Toronto Sun

 

[sicntired]

Trust me,medical marijuana in Canada is a sick joke and nothing else.The government pot has always been crap and any effort to maintain a monopoly is just the government trying to keep the lid on who gets what from whom.There are just over 1500 patients in the entire country.I could probably get it if I wanted to jump through the hoops for a couple of years and then all I'd get was government garbage.If this goes through,it just might make it worth while.There is a permit for growing I think four plants.Maybe I'll try for that.Letcha know in a couple of years how it works out.What a joke.