LEGAL POT SMOKERS WIN RIGHT TO CHOOSE THEIR SUPPLIER

Supreme Court Won't Hear Appeal Of Ruling That Ends Government Monopoly

(CNS) Canadians who are legally permitted to smoke pot to treat
illness won a victory in the Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday 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 top court's decision to stay out of the matter upholds the 2008
ruling, which dismissed the government's argument that the industry
would be thrust into deregulation if the court loosened federal restrictions.

The decision was a victory for patients who challenged the federal
regulations, arguing 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.

The appeal court decision struck down government regulations that
authorized users who cannot grow their own marijuana to designate a
grower, or obtain government-issued weed. The patients sought the
right to buy marijuana from Carasel Harvest Supply Corp., which was
not allowed to supply more than one patient with medical marijuana.
There are about 2,000 people allowed to use marijuana for medical
purposes, but only 20 per cent buy from the government supplier.

Justice Department lawyer Sean Gaudet argued in the appeal court that
statistics weren't enough to conclude the government-supplied
marijuana was inadequate, or forced people to seek drugs on the black
market. Sanctioning growers to supply more than one patient would
allow the industry to develop "without safeguards" and exacerbate the
risk that marijuana will be diverted to improper use, he said.