The awaited legal battle between the federal government and the compassion clubs has officially begun. Lawyers for the staff and owners of the five medical marijuana centres closed across Quebec following the June 3 raids - four in Montreal, and the other in Quebec City - have confirmed their intentions to mount a constitutional challenge against federal medical marijuana legislation.
On Wednesday, supporters of the marijuana clubs gathered outside the Montreal courthouse to protest against the raids which closed the compassion clubs and ended a decade of tolerance which saw the centres quietly provide marijuana to those with medical needs. Inside the courthouse, the 35 people arrested during the raids - consisting mostly of employees, as well as local marijuana activist and former politician Marc-Boris St-Maurice - were arraigned on charges of drug possession, trafficking and conspiracy.
Many attribute the recent crackdown to the activities of one club in particular, Culture 420, which only recently opened its doors in Lachine. The centre quickly attracted attention following complaints by its neighbours, and a Radio-Canada investigation later revealed that the centre was being overly liberal and frivolous in its distribution of marijuana, requiring a simple declaration signed by a commissioner of oaths, rather than the usual doctor's prescription required by other, older compassion clubs.
In 2003, the Superior Court of Ontario ruled that federal medicinal marijuana laws were unconstitutional because they allowed for use of the drug for legitimate medicinal purposes, but then failed to provide a legal supply. In response to that ruling, the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien established a government growing operation to provide the drug to licensed users.
The problem, says Defence Lawyer Jeffrey Boro, is that the government is still failing to live up to its commitments under its own medical marijuana legislation. "The government is failing, as the courts have said ... in their duty to put into place a system where people can lawfully obtain what they're lawfully allowed to possess." Only one strain is available from Health Canada, the only legally sanctioned distributor of marijuana, and the compassion clubs have repeatedly claimed they were merely filling in the gaps left by the government's inadequate supply. The process for registering with Health Canada has also been criticized as overly bureaucratic and slow, with medical marijuana users forced to turn to the streets for their weed following the closure of the clubs earlier this month.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Examiner.com
Author: Shawn Katz
Contact: Examiner.com
Copyright: 2010 Clarity Digital Group LLC d/b/a Examiner.com
Website: Medical marijuana clubs launch court challenge
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
On Wednesday, supporters of the marijuana clubs gathered outside the Montreal courthouse to protest against the raids which closed the compassion clubs and ended a decade of tolerance which saw the centres quietly provide marijuana to those with medical needs. Inside the courthouse, the 35 people arrested during the raids - consisting mostly of employees, as well as local marijuana activist and former politician Marc-Boris St-Maurice - were arraigned on charges of drug possession, trafficking and conspiracy.
Many attribute the recent crackdown to the activities of one club in particular, Culture 420, which only recently opened its doors in Lachine. The centre quickly attracted attention following complaints by its neighbours, and a Radio-Canada investigation later revealed that the centre was being overly liberal and frivolous in its distribution of marijuana, requiring a simple declaration signed by a commissioner of oaths, rather than the usual doctor's prescription required by other, older compassion clubs.
In 2003, the Superior Court of Ontario ruled that federal medicinal marijuana laws were unconstitutional because they allowed for use of the drug for legitimate medicinal purposes, but then failed to provide a legal supply. In response to that ruling, the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien established a government growing operation to provide the drug to licensed users.
The problem, says Defence Lawyer Jeffrey Boro, is that the government is still failing to live up to its commitments under its own medical marijuana legislation. "The government is failing, as the courts have said ... in their duty to put into place a system where people can lawfully obtain what they're lawfully allowed to possess." Only one strain is available from Health Canada, the only legally sanctioned distributor of marijuana, and the compassion clubs have repeatedly claimed they were merely filling in the gaps left by the government's inadequate supply. The process for registering with Health Canada has also been criticized as overly bureaucratic and slow, with medical marijuana users forced to turn to the streets for their weed following the closure of the clubs earlier this month.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Examiner.com
Author: Shawn Katz
Contact: Examiner.com
Copyright: 2010 Clarity Digital Group LLC d/b/a Examiner.com
Website: Medical marijuana clubs launch court challenge
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
