cannabisnews.com: Ottawa Asks Ontario Court To Overturn MJ Ruling





Ottawa Asks Ontario Court To Overturn MJ Ruling
Posted by FoM on October 08, 1999 at 08:56:55 PT
Luiza Chwialkowska, National Post 
Source: National Post
In a struggle to keep control over medical marijuana firmly in the hands of the minister of health, the federal government yesterday asked the Appeal Court of Ontario to strike down a two-year-old decision that allows a Toronto man to smoke cannabis to control his epileptic seizures. 
Terry Parker, a 44-year-old man who suffers severe seizures that have repeatedly endangered his life, in 1997 became the first Canadian to lawfully smoke marijuana, after he persuaded a lower court that conventional therapies, including the surgical removal of parts of his brain, had not controlled his symptoms as effectively as smoking the banned drug. Court victories such as Mr. Parker's have successfully put pressure on the government to begin developing a policy to allows access to marijuana on medical grounds. Now that the government has begun to make such allowances, however, it is asking the courts to step back and allow Allan Rock, the Health Minister, to decide who gets access to the drug and when. This week, Mr. Rock granted exemptions from criminal prosecution to 14 ill Canadians who use cannabis for medical purposes. The government is arguing Mr. Parker should also be required to apply to Mr. Rock for permission to use marijuana under a special section of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. "Parliament has put specific mechanisms in place to allow applications to be made for access to controlled substances in cases of medical need," the Crown argues. The Crown also said that Mr. Parker did not exhaust all legal therapies available to him -- for example, he did not try Marinol, a synthetic form of marijuana. Aaron Harnett, Mr. Parker's lawyer, says he is cynical about the government's motivation in announcing 14 exemptions this week. He suspects the exemptions were timed to show the court that the government had put in place a working application process. While the policy may be good news for other patients, Mr. Harnett said: "It does not mean the protection [Mr. Parker] has should be eroded." Forcing Mr. Parker to forego marijuana while he wades through a bureaucratic application process would make his seizures worse and deprive him of his constitutionally guaranteed right to life and security of the person, Mr. Harnett said. "If the Crown's appeal is successful, Mr. Parker will have a choice. He can either break the law and stay healthy, or he can make an immediate application and withstand the onslaught of seizures that will knock him down until the government approves," Mr. Harnett said. The Crown argued that the court did not have the power to allow Mr. Parker to use marijuana, and that by lifting a criminal sanction from a drug offence, the judge usurped Parliament's power to legislate criminal law. Mr. Parker said that he may not be able to successfully apply for permission from Mr. Rock because the application requires the written endorsement of a doctor. "For now, I can't find a doctor to endorse something that is illegal," he said. Intervening in the case is the Epilepsy Association of Toronto, which has told the court that the enforcement of the marijuana prohibition discriminates against people living with epilepsy.Friday, October 08, 1999Copyright © Southam Inc. You Can Smoke a Shirt, Court Told - 10/08/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3200.shtml
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