cannabisnews.com: N.S. Man Argues To Receive Marijuana in Jail





N.S. Man Argues To Receive Marijuana in Jail
Posted by CN Staff on September 05, 2002 at 16:17:02 PT
By Alison Auld
Source: Canadian Press
A Nova Scotia man who uses marijuana for medical reasons has argued in a far-reaching legal case that he should be allowed to receive the drug behind bars if he is sentenced to time in jail.Michael Patriquen, who holds a federal licence to possess and grow marijuana, appeared in Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Thursday to be sentenced on two counts of trafficking and possessing marijuana. 
But his lawyer argued the case should be adjourned until a special hearing can be held to determine whether his constitutional rights would be violated if he was incarcerated and deprived of his steady supply of pot.Warren Zimmer said Patriquen, who has been prescribed marijuana for chronic neck pains sustained in a car accident in 1999, will suffer needlessly in prison because he won't be able to access marijuana."If you sentence him, you will effectively cut him off," Zimmer said in court.Patriquen, who was convicted in 1999, received his licences to possess and cultivate a certain amount of marijuana in 2002, well after he was charged and pleaded guilty to the offences.He argues he should be entitled to receive what he calls his medication if he is sent to a federal penitentiary. He wants the judge to hold off sentencing until the federal government concludes its medicinal trials of marijuana and is ready to provide it to people who have licences."I don't want to go and sit in a little eight-by-four concrete room with no medicine and no pain relief," Patriquen, a stocky man with a salt-and-pepper moustache stained yellow, said outside the courtroom.The Crown contends that Patriquen, who has two children, should file a complaint with the Federal Court once he is sentenced and his rights are perceived to be violated, not before.Crown attorney James Martin charged that Patriquen, 49, was merely trying to delay his sentencing."Not supplying Mr. Patriquen with marijuana does not mean his Charter rights have been violated," Martin said. "It means he hasn't been supplied with marijuana."Martin said Patriquen, who ran locally for the Marijuana Party in the last federal election, was involved in large selling and growing operations that stretched from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland.An undercover police agent tracked him in the late 1990s and witnessed what Martin called a "sophisticated" network that involved hundreds of thousands of dollars and high-tech hydroponic growing equipment."Mr. Patriquen is not coming before the court today as someone who is unsophisticated about these things," Martin said.The judge reserved her decision until next week, when she is expected to either sentence Patriquen or recommend that a hearing be held to address his complaint.Zimmer said the case could have wide implications for the more than 800 people in the country who have special exemptions to grow and possess marijuana. It could influence the way a judge handles sentencing if they are brought up on criminal charges.If he is successful in his argument, Patriquen might have to wait a long time before receiving a federal supply of the drug.Ottawa is hoping in late fall or early winter to conduct clinical trials on research-grade marijuana being grown at federal sites in Flin Flon, Man. Health Minister Anne McLellan refuted suggestions last week that she was backing away from her plan to distribute marijuana for medicinal purposes.Ottawa signed a $5.7-million, four-year contract in 2000 with Saskatoon-based Prairie Plant Systems to grow marijuana for the government. The government couldn't go ahead with an earlier crop because it wasn't standardized and therefore not suitable to use in trials.Some observers have suggested the government has shied away from medicinal pot because, in part, it raises cross-border issues with the United States.Complete Title: N.S. Man Argues He Should Be Allowed to Receive Medical Marijuana in Jail Newshawk: puff_tuffSource: Canadian PressAuthor: Alison Auld Published: Thursday, September 5, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Canadian Press Related Articles & Web Sites:Med Marijuana Inc.http://www.med-marijuana.com/Marijuana Party of Canadahttp://www.marijuanaparty.org/Cannabis Capsules Cause Stir http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12392.shtmlOttawa Has Seed of Doubt About Supplementhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12184.shtmlThey're High On Pot Plan http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11506.shtml 
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