VICS CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE OF HEALTH CANADA MEDICAL CANNABIS
PROGRAM SUCCESSFUL!

Dear friends and supporters,

It is with great pleasure that I announce the successful outcome of
the Vancouver Island Compassion Society (VICS) Constitutional
challenge of Health Canada's medical cannabis program and practice.
On Monday, February 2nd 2009 Justice Koenigsberg ruled that the
federal regulations limiting the number of people who could grow
cannabis in one location, and the rules limiting the number of
patients that a producer could grow for were arbitrary, served no
public interest, and were therefore unconstitutional. She stayed her
decision for one year in order to allow the federal government to
amend their medical cannabis regulations to reflect her ruling.

Although Justice Koenigsberg went on to find the defendant, Mr. Mat
Beren - who was in charge of the Vancouver Island Compassion
Society's production and research facility - guilty of cannabis
possession and cultivation for the purpose of trafficking, she then
immediately granted him an absolute discharge, essentially
exonerating him of all charges. In granting Mr. Beren the discharge,
the judge stated that "In my view, it would be contrary to public
interest for Mr. Beren to have criminal record. If ever there was a
case where an absolute discharge is appropriate, it's this one." She
also urged Health Canada to establish regulations that would legally
authorize organizations like the Vancouver Island Compassion Society
that are legitimately helping medical cannabis patients through
research and distribution to continue their good work without the
ongoing threat of arrest and prosecution.

This important legal decision came about as result of a nearly five
year Charter challenge which stemmed from a 2004 police raid on the
Vancouver Island Therapeutic Cannabis Research Institute (VITCRI), a
cannabis production, research and breeding facility owned and
operated by the Vancouver Island Compassion Society. The judge has
yet to issue a written decision, and we will make it available as
soon as it becomes available. This marks the fifth time that this
program has been found unconstitutional since 2001, and although it
is a major victory for Canadian medical cannabis patients and those
working to help them, the decision didn't address and remedy ongoing
access problems. Judge Koenigsberg noted that Health Canada has only
granted legal access to medical cannabis to about 2600 people so far,
despite there being between 400,000 and 1 million medical cannabis
patients in Canada, but failed to find the access regulations
unconstitutional. However, as a result of her ruling patients will
be able to benefit from the economies of scale in regards to the
production of their medicine, and experienced cultivators will have
more freedom and motivation to assist authorized patients.

The VICS and its 850 members would like to thank our amazing legal
team for this historic victory. Lawyers Kirk Tousaw and John Conroy
QC both worked tirelessly on this challenge at greatly reduced legal
rates, and they deserve much of the credit for this win. We'd also
like to thank our lay and expert witnesses, who gave so much of
themselves and whose testimony formed the foundation for Justice
Koenigsberg's historic decision. Lastly, a huge thanks to our
supporters in both Canada and the U.S., particularly the Marijuana
Policy Project, Robert Field, and the Drug Policy Alliance, without
whose financial support this challenge would not have been possible.