News (Media Awareness Project) - CN QU: Quebec Centre Sold Marijuana For A Variety Of Ills |
| Title: | CN QU: Quebec Centre Sold Marijuana For A Variety Of Ills |
| Published On: | 2001-03-14 |
| Source: | Montreal Gazette (CN QU) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-01 23:21:47 |
QUEBEC CENTRE SOLD MARIJUANA FOR A VARIETY OF ILLS, VOLUNTEERS' TRIAL TOLD
MONTREAL (CP) - A non-profit centre that says it sells marijuana for
medicinal uses provided it for migraine sufferers, people with elevated
cholesterol levels, schizophrenics and others with fractures, Quebec court
was told Tuesday.
That contradicts earlier testimony that said the Compassion Club provided
marijuana to people suffering from very serious health problems that usual
medication wouldn't help, prosecutor Robert Marquis said.
But witness Caroline Doyer, a club founder, said it was not up to them to
pass judgment on the reason someone needed marijuana as long as the
treatment was recommended by a doctor.
Marc-Boris St-Maurice, 32, and Alexandre Neron, 22, of the Compassion Club,
are both charged with drug trafficking and possession for the purpose of
trafficking following their arrest one year ago.
Their lawyer, Pierre Leger, is challenging the constitutionality of the
drug laws, arguing they don't take into account the special federal
exemptions granted to people allowing them to smoke marijuana in order to
alleviate pain and the side-effects of prescription drugs.
Doyer, who is also a volunteer, said the prescriptions or the
recommendations to provide marijuana were always verified with the
patient's doctor.
Of the club's 55 members who pay $8 per gram of marijuana - below street
prices - five have obtained the federal exemption. The others have notes
from doctors, which in most cases do not specify the quantity or the length
of time the drug is to be supplied. Club volunteers keep track of the amounts.
Doyer said that the club only deals with one supplier, who is only known to
St-Maurice.
Judge Gilles Cadieux said he will decide whether to allow Senator
Pierre-Claude Nolin as an expert witness. Nolin, who favours the
legalization of marijuana, chairs a Senate committee on illegal drugs.
Marquis said he opposed Nolin's testimony, saying he was not an expert and
suggested that Leger was trying to turn the trial into "a commission of
inquiry."
MONTREAL (CP) - A non-profit centre that says it sells marijuana for
medicinal uses provided it for migraine sufferers, people with elevated
cholesterol levels, schizophrenics and others with fractures, Quebec court
was told Tuesday.
That contradicts earlier testimony that said the Compassion Club provided
marijuana to people suffering from very serious health problems that usual
medication wouldn't help, prosecutor Robert Marquis said.
But witness Caroline Doyer, a club founder, said it was not up to them to
pass judgment on the reason someone needed marijuana as long as the
treatment was recommended by a doctor.
Marc-Boris St-Maurice, 32, and Alexandre Neron, 22, of the Compassion Club,
are both charged with drug trafficking and possession for the purpose of
trafficking following their arrest one year ago.
Their lawyer, Pierre Leger, is challenging the constitutionality of the
drug laws, arguing they don't take into account the special federal
exemptions granted to people allowing them to smoke marijuana in order to
alleviate pain and the side-effects of prescription drugs.
Doyer, who is also a volunteer, said the prescriptions or the
recommendations to provide marijuana were always verified with the
patient's doctor.
Of the club's 55 members who pay $8 per gram of marijuana - below street
prices - five have obtained the federal exemption. The others have notes
from doctors, which in most cases do not specify the quantity or the length
of time the drug is to be supplied. Club volunteers keep track of the amounts.
Doyer said that the club only deals with one supplier, who is only known to
St-Maurice.
Judge Gilles Cadieux said he will decide whether to allow Senator
Pierre-Claude Nolin as an expert witness. Nolin, who favours the
legalization of marijuana, chairs a Senate committee on illegal drugs.
Marquis said he opposed Nolin's testimony, saying he was not an expert and
suggested that Leger was trying to turn the trial into "a commission of
inquiry."
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