cannabisnews.com: Ontario Court Strikes Down Law on Medical Pot





Ontario Court Strikes Down Law on Medical Pot
Posted by CN Staff on January 10, 2003 at 07:03:48 PT
By The CTV News Staff
Source: CTV
Part of Canada's marijuana law has been blown away. Superior Court Justice Sidney Lederman says it's unfair to allow people to smoke medicinal marijuana and then force them to buy it from a drug dealer. The Ontario judge declared the rules for the medical use of marijuana are unconstitutional in a 40-page ruling released Thursday. He gave Ottawa six months to fix the regulations which are suppose to give eligible people an exemption from the law that makes marijuana illegal.
"Laws which put seriously ill, vulnerable people in a position where they have to deal with the criminal underworld to obtain medicine they have been authorized to take violate the constitutional right to security of the person," Lederman wrote in the ruling. "I have grave reservations about a regime which ...grants legal access by relying on drug dealers to supply and distribute the required medicine."The ruling is the latest blow to marijuana laws in Canada. Earlier this month, a judge threw out possession charges against a Windsor Ontario teen, on a technicality arising from the regulations.Lawyer and long-time cannabis crusader Alan Young says the latest ruling is another clear sign that the laws prohibiting possession of small amounts of marijuana are crumbling."It's another nail in the coffin, and this is a big nail," an elated Young said after learning of the ruling. "We feel it will be appealed, but it's the light at the end of the tunnel ...I can't really see the law maintaining any operation after this year. It's sitting on a really precarious foundation."Young has argued that the regulations are so snarled in red tape that they discriminate against the people they are intended to help. He said he received calls from supporters following the ruling."Everyone's overjoyed; I'm getting calls from across the country from this pot world," Young said. "They can't get out of bed in the morning, but they can get this news very quickly."Department of Justice spokeswoman Dorette Pollard, meanwhile, said federal lawyers are reviewing the judgment and will then advise Health Minister Anne McLellan on what steps to take next. "They're reviewing the decision, and will advise the minister accordingly," Pollard said, adding they have 30 days to decide whether they'll appeal the ruling.With a report from The Canadian Press.Source: CTV (Canada)Published: Friday, January 10, 2003Copyright: 2003 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. Website: http://www.ctv.ca/Contact: newsonline ctv.ca Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmCanadian Judge Upends Marijuana Programhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15156.shtmlSix Months To Fix Medical-Marijuana Regulations http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15154.shtmlCourt Nixes Fed's Medical-Pot Regulations http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15153.shtml
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