TOKERS TO LAW: CHILL

Exemptions not enough for medicinal pot smokers

Alison Myrden lights a joint every two hours, while Jim Wakeford smokes his
pot during the evenings.

The pair, suffering from terminal illnesses, aren't breaking the law, just
smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Ontario's Court of Appeal validated Myrden's and Wakeford's positions by
declaring unconstitutional the law that prohibits possession of marijuana
because it doesn't include those who use pot for medicinal purposes.

The court ruled that if Ottawa doesn't clarify the law within a year,
marijuana possession will be legal for anyone in Ontario.

Advocates for marijuana decriminalization are thrilled.

"I'm absolutely overjoyed. It's a huge victory for us," said Myrden, who
suffers from multiple sclerosis.

The 36-year-old Burlington woman swears she'd be confined to a wheelchair if
she didn't smoke pot. She also suffers from left-side trigeminal neuralgia,
which only occurs in 4% of MS patients. It's a stabbing pain in the face.

"Eight years ago, I had no use of my lower body and I was confined to a
wheelchair, suffering from nerve pain, bladder incontinence and muscle
spasms and popping 30 pills a day, including 600 mg of morphine," recalls
Myrden.

"Today, I'm walking with a cane pain-free because of marijuana," said
Myrden, who began smoking marijuana in 1997.

BLACK MARKET SOURCE

Wakeford -- who has full-blown AIDS -- was the first Canadian awarded an
exemption by the federal government in May 1999 to smoke pot for medicinal
purposes. Since then, dozens of others like Myrden have received similar
exemptions.

But Wakeford, who won the right to possess, cultivate and use marijuana to
treat his AIDS-related illnesses, still has to buy marijuana on the black
market.

"These exemptions are flawed and inappropriate and do not solve the
problem," said Wakeford, who hopes to compel Ottawa to ensure a safe supply
of the drug is provided.

The Toronto Compassion Centre (TCC) sells marijuana to 300 medical users
such as Myrden and Wakeford.

"We are an outlet where we can help the terminally ill people connect with
marijuana products, but it's a poverty issue and governments should create
compassionate access to medical users," said Jim Bridges, a TCC volunteer.

"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, who represents those who want
to use pot medicinally.