MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS WIN VICTORY

TORONTO (CNS) -- Canadians who are prescribed marijuana to treat
illness will have more choice in where to buy their drugs after a
court ruling Monday that ends the federal government's monopoly on
supplying medical marijuana to patients.

Justice Department lawyers had sought to appeal a lower-court ruling
that granted licensed producers the right to grow marijuana for more
than one patient.

But the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the government's challenge,
saying it was not persuaded by government lawyers who argued that
growers supplying more than one patient would lead to an unregulated industry.

In January, a federal court judge struck down the one-to-one ratio as
unconstitutional and unnecessarily restrictive. The judgment was
stayed pending Monday's appeal.

Lawyer Alan Young, who represented medical marijuana users, said the
ruling was a victory for "sick people."

"It's time for Health Canada to recognize that medical marijuana is
an established part of the regimen for a lot of patients," Young said
outside court. "Instead of thwarting patient needs, they should be
accommodating patient needs and, hopefully, this case will be a
signal to them."

Authorized users who cannot grow their own marijuana can designate a
grower, or obtain government-issued marijuana supplied by Prairie
Plant Systems in Manitoba.

But a group of 30 patients who challenged the regulations argued the
government pot was weak, and they should have the option to select
their source.

They wanted the right to buy marijuana from Carasel Harvest Supply
Corp., which, under the current regime, was not allowed to supply
more than one patient with medical marijuana.

There are about 2,000 people legally allowed to use marijuana for
medical purposes, but the lower court found only 20 per cent buy it
from the government supplier.

Justice Department lawyer Sean Gaudet told court that statistic
wasn't enough to conclude the government-supplied marijuana was
inadequate, or forced people to seek drugs on the black market.

There could be many reasons why a medical marijuana user seeks an
alternative source, he said.

Moreover, sanctioning growers to supply more than one patient will
allow the industry to develop "without safeguards" and "exacerbates"
the risk that marijuana will be "diverted" to improper use, Gaudet
told the three-judge panel.

He asked the court to give the government more time to create new
regulations and safeguards for growers supplying more than one
patient -- a request that was denied by the court.

Young said Health Canada will now have to evaluate each application
by designated growers on an ad hoc basis.

Still, he said the case could end up back in court if the government
tries to implement new rules that limit growers from supplying
marijuana to only two or three users.

In 2003, an Ontario appeal court struck down Health Canada's
regulations barring growers from supplying more than one patient on
the grounds it effectively forced many users to buy their medicine on
the street.

But the government reinstated the policy several months later,
prompting the current court challenge.