FEDERAL COURT RULING PLEASES MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS

Canadians 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.

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% 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.