PUFFING PAIN AWAY

Terminally Ill, Sick Laud Medicinal-pot Ruling

The storefront is dimly lit and the plants in the windows blend into
the laid-back atmosphere of a cramped office.

It's not everyone's idea of a pharmacy, but for 300 sick and
terminally ill clients, it's a medicinal haven.

On this day, it's raining, but a steady stream of clients keep
trickling in. For many, this place is a matter of life-and-death.

The Toronto Compassion Centre sells joints, marijuana leaves and
marijuana-laced cookies, muffins and Rice Krispies snacks to certified
clients who smoke pot for medicinal purposes.

"Our clients depend on us to help them connect with marijuana products
that are safe," said Compassion Centre volunteer Jim Bridges, 36, who
is dying from full-blown AIDS.

About 75% of Compassion Centre clients have AIDS, the remaining 25%
suffer illnesses such as cancer or multiple sclerosis.

Earlier this week, Ontario's Court of Appeal vindicated clients like
those at the centre by striking down the law that makes it a crime to
possess marijuana in Canada. Lawyers argued that the law is
unconstitutional because it doesn't include those who use pot for
medicinal purposes and forces patients to choose between effective
treatment and being arrested.

"We're very pleased with (Monday's) ruling in terms of the endorsement
of constitutional rights to use marijuana medicinally, but we're very
disappointed by the court for not tackling whether marijuana should
continue to be decriminalized," said lawyer Alan Young.

He says if the feds fail to clarify the law within a year, everyone
will be allowed to smoke pot legally in Canada. Until the 12 months
are up, the current law will continue in effect.

Dr. Benedikt Fischer, a University of Toronto public health and
criminology professor, says the Ontario court's decision was to nudge
the feds into action.

"We need an explicit legal provision which protects medical pot users
or exempts them from pot laws, and they need to find a way to separate
out legal use from punitive control of pot use," said Fischer, who is
also a scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

Justice Minister Anne McLellan said earlier this week that she's
willing to consider the possibility of decriminalizing pot.

Decriminalization "is a legitimate question" that needs to be fully
explored and debated, she said, adding that using the courts for
arresting and charging people with small amounts of soft drugs like
pot may not be the most effective use of Canada's law enforcement,
judicial and court resources.

Jim Wakeford was the first Canadian awarded an exemption by the
federal government in May 1999 to smoke pot for medicinal purposes. A
survey by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health found that 2% of
Ontarians, or 150,000 people, use pot.

Wakeford won the right to possess, cultivate and use
pot.

"I'm not getting any better or younger and I hope my (civil action)
appeal will be successful and some way will be found to get legal
access to a safe and legal supply of marijuana for medicinal users,"
said Wakeford, who spends $300 a month on the black market.

"I'm grateful and happy to be alive, but I'm being pushed to the wall
financially."