cannabisnews.com: High Success In Court





High Success In Court
Posted by CN Staff on May 01, 2003 at 01:53:43 PT
By Jason Botchford, Sun Media
Source: Calgary Sun
Toronto's Terry Parker has been fighting, and winning, marijuana-related court cases since the 1970s and there's no end in sight. "I've already had eight decisions in my favour. There should be a mention of that in the Guinness Book of World Records," Parker said. "I don't see myself ever stopping as long as there is marijuana prohibition. I have a conscience, I am aware of people suffering and I'll find some way to ex-pose the goods here." 
The goods are marijuana and Parker, who suffers from violent seizures -- a symptom of his epilepsy -- is convinced the smoke is the reason he's alive today. "The only reason I am surviving is because I consume marijuana," Parker said. "It controls what would be devastating daily seizures." The landmark court rulings in Parker's favour are part of a foundation of court decisions which have systematically stripped away Canada's marijuana laws, leaving a lot of questions and a need for legislative changes. * In 1997, Judge Patrick Sheppard stayed charges of cultivation and possession of marijuana against Parker after ruling sections of the Controlled Drug and Substance Act (CDSA) are unconstitutional. * In 2000, in a unanimous judgment by Justices Marvin Catzman, Louise Charron and Marc Rosenberg, the court declared the prohibition of marijuana possession in the CDSA of no force and therefore unconstitutional. The court ruled that if Ottawa does not clarify the law within 12 months, the law would be struck down. * In 2003, Ontario Justice Douglas Phillip threw out a marijuana charge in Windsor against a 16-year-old after lawyer Brian McAllister argued in court that, because of the Parker decision, there is effectively no law prohibiting the possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana. Despite these decisions, Parker doesn't think he's made a difference. "There is still prohibition against marijuana, isn't there?" Parker said. "The law should have been changed 50 years ago." Canada's medicinal grass laws are a study in confused hypocrisy. There is no legal way for many of those who have been granted a Section 56 exemption to access marijuana. Licensed personal-grower criteria is difficult to obtain. Doctors are being instructed by their representative associations not to prescribe medical marijuana. Thousands of patients who have applied under Health Canada's Medical Marijuana Access Regulations (MMAR) have been denied. "My Section 56 exemption says I can possess a little bit more than three ounces of pot at any given time, but it doesn't say I can purchase it and it doesn't even say I can smoke it. "I have no legal way to access it," said Toronto's Allan Love, a 49-year-old who has HIV and multiple seizure disorders. "I just want what I feel is fair and right: Give me my medicine." Love now buys as much as he can afford at $9 per gram from the Toronto Compassion Centre, a supplier of marijuana for medicinal purposes. A lawsuit launched by medicinal marijuana users is aiming to abolish the federal law against possessing and using pot with a constitutional challenge. "It's going to be a long process and we don't have time to wait. We're the generation making the change but we shouldn't have to die for it," said Stu Chamney, whose wife Marylynne, 37, is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. She suffers from seizures that are controlled by marijuana. The family has spent $100,000 over the past six years on her marijuana medicine which has left them bankrupt. But in a twist, Marylynne and the seven others named in the suit -- chronic pain sufferers -- are not suing the federal government for any money -- just access to safe, affordable marijuana for treatment. "It shows just how principled these people are," said Alan Young, one of the country's crusading pot lawyers. The civil suit demands three remedies: * Strike down Health Canada's Medical Marijuana Access Regulations as too restrictive. * End cannabis prohibition. * Force Health Canada to distribute pot grown by Prairie Plant Systems, the government-contracted firm which runs a grow operation in Flin Flon, Man., to med-pot patients. Noting a new Sun-Leger poll and a string of others showing a vast majority of Canadians want lighter marijuana laws, Young said pot prohibition has been a failure in democracy. "The numbers, in terms of support for marijuana law reforms, have been consistent since 1975," Young said. "There has been a great deal of consensus in the country but without the ongoing litigation, I am not convinced there would be any political will to make changes happen." In another case Young worked on earlier this year, Justice Sydney Lederman declared the current MMAR unconstitutional, but gave the government an ultimatum -- fix the regulations or supply the pot itself by July 9. Young is also part of an upcoming Supreme Court case involving convicted pot smokers who claim possession laws are unconstitutional. Seen as a flagship case for marijuana users across Canada who want pot legalized, it has been postponed before in light of the federal government's pending decision to introduce legislation to decriminalize marijuana. Young said he isn't yet convinced this is the year Canada will make changes to marijuana laws. "We've been down this road. If it was something the government was going to deal with, it would have been dealt with by now," Young said, adding he believes winning in court is the only way to force the government's hand. PROS AND CONS * POSITIVE EFFECTS HEADACHES: The intoxication from the smoke can increase a sense of bliss and minimize pain from migraines. EYES: A chemical in marijuana called tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can reduce interocular pressure which can ease pressure and prevent glaucoma from progressing. SPINE: In some cases, marijuana relieves muscle spasms and calms problems resulting from spinal cord injury and MS. STOMACH: Helps nausea, anorexia and wasting which are commonly caused by chemotherapy, AIDS and the aggressive therapies used to treat those diseases. * NEGATIVE EFFECTS BEHAVIOUR: Can cause difficulty with memory and learning while hindering perception and causing a difficulty in problem-solving. NERVOUS SYSTEM: Smoking marijuana will reduce the strength and speed of communications between the mind and body. It obstructs the neuro-transmitter acetylcholine, which is needed for effective cognition. LUNGS: The smoke injures lung tissues and cells responsible for warding off infections and viruses. It is likely that marijuana smoking, like cigarette smoking, can cause cancerous tumours. HEART: During the time when a smoker is high they will have an increased heart rate up to 50% above normal. The effect could be dangerous for a person with a congestive heart or with an irregular heartbeat. -- Sources: Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada; Institute of Medicine (U.S.); Canadian Society on Addiction Medicine; Canadian Medical Association. Note: Marijuana crusader rings up eight case victories in fight against prohibition.Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)Author: Jason Botchford, Sun MediaPublished: Thursday, May 1, 2003 Copyright: 2003 The Calgary SunContact: callet sunpub.comWebsite: http://www.fyicalgary.com/calsun.shtmlRelated Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmPot Regulations Violate Charter: Ontario Court http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15158.shtmlPot Charge Rejected in Potential Landmark Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15093.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by Lehder on May 01, 2003 at 06:28:56 PT
snuff this falsehood
"BEHAVIOUR: Can cause difficulty with memory and learning while hindering perception
   and causing a difficulty in problem-solving."In complete contradiction to my own experience, Carl Sagan'shttp://www.marijuana-uses.com/examples/and the experiences of many othershttp://www.marijuana-uses.com/examples/http://nepenthes.lycaeum.org/Misc/nerdvalley.htmlSee? It's just not true. So from where does this myth burst onto our happy planet?>>-- Sources: Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada; Institute of Medicine (U.S.); Canadian
   Society on Addiction Medicine; Canadian Medical Association. Ah, from doctors - the kind of doctors whose statements are supported if not molded by the government and who have no problem at all with TV commercials that urge us to swallow all sorts of little red, white and blue pills whether we need them or not and whether they're harmful or not. So be wary of marijuana war myths. In some cases they can cause headache, diarrhea, abdominal pain, insomnia, fatigue and a blissful state of ignorance.
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Comment #1 posted by WolfgangWylde on May 01, 2003 at 04:40:27 PT
...
* In 2000, in a unanimous judgment by Justices Marvin Catzman, Louise Charron and Marc Rosenberg, the court declared the prohibition of marijuana possession in the CDSA of no force and therefore unconstitutional. The court ruled that if Ottawa does not clarify the law within 12 months, the law would be struck down. Or not.
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