FEDS LOSE MONOPOLY ON MEDICAL POT

Appeal Rejected: Legal Marijuana Can Now Be Sold By Private Growers

JORDANA HUBER Canwest News Service

The federal government lost a court appeal yesterday, paving the way
for an end to its monopoly 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 three-judge panel said it was not persuaded by government
lawyers who argued that allowing a grower to supply 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 ruling was stayed pending yesterday's appeal ruling.

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 access government-issued marijuana supplied by Prairie
Plant Systems in Manitoba.

But a group of 30 patients who challenged the regulations argued the
government supplied marijuana was weak and they should have the right
to choose their source.

They were lobbying to be lawfully able to purchase marijuana from
Carasel Harvest Supply Corp., which, under the current regime, was
not allowed to supply more than one patient with medical marijuana.