ONCE AGAIN, THE COURTS THINK THEY KNOW BEST

In an unprecedented move, Health Minister Allan Rock has undertaken to
expedite the production and sale of a new prescription drug, although it is
a known carcinogen with no proven therapeutic benefits.

What prompted him to take such reckless and bizarre action? Why has he
circumvented the strict procedures maintained by the Bureau of Drug
Surveillance to safeguard Canadians from unsafe medicines?

The drug in question is marijuana. Rock contends he had no choice, but to
make this illegal narcotic readily available for use as a prescription
drug, because of a ruling last year by the Ontario Court of Appeal in a
case involving Terrance Parker, a Toronto man afflicted with a severe form
of epilepsy.

Parker was charged in 1997 with possession of marijuana contrary to Section
4 (1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. He testified at trial he
grew marijuana for his own personal use as a medicine he needed to control
his seizures.

Parker conceded he originally started smoking marijuana as a recreational
drug, but found the frequency and intensity of his seizures declined
sharply when he was under the influence of marijuana. To test this theory,
he kept a diary of his experiences with epilepsy over six months, during
which he recorded that he experienced grand mal seizures when he stopped
smoking marijuana, but had no seizures when he smoked marijuana in addition
to taking his regular prescription medicine.

Parker then got a note from his physician, stating: "I am of the opinion
that it is medically necessary, in order to obtain optimal seizure control,
that Mr. Parker regularly use marijuana in conjunction with his other
anti-convulsant medications." A second physician, testifying as an expert
witness for the defence, told the trial court that while more research is
required on the medical benefits of marijuana, numerous scientific studies
indicate smoked marijuana provides a wide-range of health benefits,
including, "quite pronounced anti-epileptic activity."

On the strength of such evidence, Mr. Justice Patrick A. Sheppard of the
Ontario Court of Justice concluded Parker needs marijuana to control his
epilepsy. Sheppard also held smoked marijuana is effective in the treatment
of everything from nausea and vomiting to spinal cord injuries, muscular
dystrophy and migraine headaches. Consequently, he ruled the Controlled
Drugs and Substances Act violates the right to "life, liberty and security
of the person," as guaranteed in Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms, because the law prevents ready access to marijuana by
Canadians who desperately need the drug for a "personal medically approved
use."

On July 31, 2000, Justice Marc Rosenberg of the Ontario Court of Appeal
upheld this ruling. He warned Parliament it must permit medical marijuana
within 12 months or the entire legal ban on the possession of marijuana
would lapse. In addition, Rosenberg granted Parker a legal exemption to go
on growing, possessing and smoking marijuana for his medical needs.

As usual, the Chretien government succumbed to judicial blackmail. Just a
few weeks before the expiry of Rosenberg's deadline, Rock announced a new
set of regulations allowing the possession of marijuana for medical needs.

Meanwhile, Health Canada retains serious reservations about the medical
benefits of smoked marijuana. The ministry states in its latest report on
this subject that, "scientific studies supporting the safety and efficacy
of marijuana for therapeutic claims are inconclusive. Health Canada is also
concerned about the health risks associated with the use of marijuana,
especially in smoked form."

Likewise, the Institute of Medicine, an affiliate of the National Academy
of Sciences of the United States, specifically maintains there is "no solid
evidence" to indicate smoked marijuana helps control epileptic seizures.
The Institute also advises: "Because marijuana is a crude THC delivery
system that also delivers harmful substances, smoked marijuana should
generally not be recommended for medical use."

Isn't that ridiculous?

How can the medical experts in Health Canada and the Institute of Medicine
be so woefully ill-informed, when our omniscient masters in the courts have
decreed marijuana is a virtually miraculous drug Canadians have a
constitutional right to smoke for medical purposes?