COURT WIN FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS

(CNS) Canadians who are legally permitted to smoke pot to treat
illness won a victory in the Supreme Court of Canada yesterday when
it refused to hear an appeal of a ruling that put an end to the
federal government monopoly.

A three-judge panel, without giving reasons, rejected the Justice
Department's application to challenge a Federal Court of Appeal
decision that gave licensed producers the right to grow marijuana for
more than one patient.

The Supreme Court's decision to stay out of the matter effectively
upholds the 2008 ruling, which dismissed the government's argument
that the industry would be thrust into deregulation if the court
loosened restrictions.

The decision was a victory for a group of patients who argued that
the government -issued pot, supplied by Prairie Plant Systems in
Manitoba, is too weak and that they should have the option to find
their own supply.