MEDICAL POTHEADS WANT GOOD STUFF

Lawyer Says Patients Ought To Be Able To Pick Own Grower

Lawyers for Canadian users of medical marijuana who want Ottawa to
ease restrictions on where they get their drugs told a Federal Court
judge yesterday that government-approved pot doesn't compare to
higher-quality strains available on the street.

Patients ought to be able to pick their own grower, said lawyer Alan
Young, who accused Ottawa of rushing into drafting a program in 2003
that ultimately forced patients to use a substandard product -- a
violation of their constitutional rights.

"When the dust settles, what you're left with is a government simply
decreeing that this is the way you are going to get your medicine,"
Young said in wrapping up their case.

But since launching its controversial medicinal marijuana program,
Health Canada has significantly improved the quality of its product
compared with earlier batches, meaning the case against the government
doesn't stand up, said Health Canada lawyer Christopher Leafloor.

The applicants in the case haven't tried the most recent batches of
cannabis grown by the contractor Prairie Plant Systems (PPS), which is
based in Flin Flon, Man., Leafloor said.

"Our position is that you can't really take seriously their claim that
the PPS product isn't good enough in terms of strength when they
haven't even tried it."

Leafloor said that only one applicant in the case had tried the PPS
product, and that trial was several years ago. "That was an early version."

Yesterday's hearing marks the procedural culmination of a
three-and-a-half year process which Young hopes will eventually give
experienced cannabis growers the opportunity to supply products
specifically tailored to the needs of medical users.

The court could issue a ruling by the spring, he added.