cannabisnews.com: Locked Away in Pain Locked Away in Pain Posted by CN Staff on April 25, 2003 at 11:17:25 PT By Dave Swick, The Daily News Source: Halifax Daily News If a man needs medicine to be free of pain, and is sent to prison, should he still be allowed his medicine? The answer in any civilized country would be yes. But the answer for a local man now in Dorchester Penitentiary is no.A motorcycle accident in 1999 left Mike Patriquen with a damaged nerve in his neck. Anyone who has ever suffered nerve pain can tell you it is horrible and overwhelming. The federal government knows this too, and so issued Patriquen licenses to grow and possess marijuana. All but the most ideological anti-drug campaigners agree that marijuana can be medicinal. Before receiving his Health Canada licence, Patriquen had been using expensive painkillers — which left him barely able to function.For him, marijuana does the job of the painkillers, without the nasty side effects. Marijuana is vital medicine.Yet Patriquen, in prison, is not allowed his medicine. As a result, his wife says, he is in constant, debilitating pain, and has lost 45 pounds in just a few months.Most of us who have never been imprisoned tend to think of it, well, almost not at all.And we might even indulge in the notion that whatever hell people go through there is their own fault. But we need to look at this case closely.A Middle Sackville man is writhing in pain in prison — not in China or Egypt or Guantanamo — but right here in the Maritimes.If Patriquen was diabetic, we would not deny him insulin. If he was dying of some devastating disease, we would not deny him morphine. Yet marijuana — for which he is approved by Health Canada — this he is not allowed.“The (medical marijuana) authorization exempts you from being criminally prosecuted for possessing marijuana,” says Corrections Canada spokeswoman Michelle Pilon-Santilli in Ottawa.“It doesn’t say you can smoke it in prison ... At the present time no one is smoking marijuana in our institutions ... It would mean a change in policy.”Sounds good to me. A change in Corrections policy is not being planned, but is exactly what is needed.What we have here is a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing: the Department of Health has a policy, but it doesn’t fit into Justice Department guidelines. This is government by Monty Python. It makes you want to laugh. Except that this is not funny.Sending someone to jail for breaking the law is one thing; leaving them in constant pain is unconscionable.The fact that Patriquen, 49, may not be a model citizen is beside the point.Yes, he has a criminal record dating back to 1976. And yes, last fall he was sentenced to six years in prison for conspiring to traffic marijuana in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.He’s a well-known pain in the Official Butt, too. He co-founded the Marijuana Party of Canada, which in the last federal election ran candidates in 73 ridings. Patriquen ran in Halifax, winning 632 votes.The point is that the departments of Health and Justice need to get their act together. It is time to fill in the crack into which this man has fallen. The torture of Mike Patriquen has gone on long enough.Note: Jail shouldn't keep people from medicine in a civilized country, but it does here.Newshawk: puff_tuffSource: Halifax Daily News (Canada)Author: Dave Swick, The Daily News Published: Friday, April 25, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Daily News Website: http://www.canada.com/halifax/dailynews/Contact: http://www.canada.com/halifax/info/contactus.htmlRelated Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htm Marijuana in Jail? Never! http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15774.shtmlPot Appeal Dropped in N.S. Courts http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15706.shtmlPot Appeal Given Up - Edmonton Sun http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15702.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by afterburner on May 01, 2003 at 18:04:48 PT: Stop Torturing Mike Patriquen! The treatment of Michael Patriquen is a travesty and a violation of his rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/ . The Right Honourable Martin Cauchon is the federal Justice Minister in charge of Corrections Canada: he is also the minister promising decriminalization of cannabis along with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Justice Minister Cauchon, please stop this cruel and unusual punishment. Extend the medical cannabis exemption, which Mr. Patriquen already possesses, to allow him to receive his medicine. Under Health Canada guidelines Michael Patriquen has the right to designate a medical cannabis provider, so the argument that Corrections Canada cannot supply an illegal medicine is bogus. If you take such umbrage with a prisoner smoking, let him vaporize or eat his medicine. This action would be a demonstration of your good faith. Thank you on behalf of the medical cannabis community.Respectfully yours, afterburner [ Post Comment ] Post Comment