POPULAR POT ACTIVIST SPEAKS IN OSHAWA

Matt Mernagh at the Centre of Court Challenge to Medical Marijuana
Legislation

OSHAWA -- As the date for Oshawa's third annual Cannabis Day nears,
one of Canada's most well-known marijuana activists dropped in to
rally the troops and talk about his historic court battle.

Toronto resident Matt Mernagh made headlines this spring when an
Ontario Superior Court justice struck down Canada's medical marijuana
laws and gave the government 90 days to fix the program.

It was Mr. Mernagh's case that led to the judge's decision.

The 37-year-old activist -- who suffers from fibromyalgia, scoliosis
and seizures -- spent years trying unsuccessfully to find a doctor who
would sign the forms to allow him to access medical marijuana.

He eventually got busted for growing his own pot.

"This program is a dismal failure. Most doctors want nothing to do
with it and they're the gatekeepers," Mr. Mernagh said in an
interview. "There are people like me who have an illness, they should
be able to access it, and they can't."

The Oshawa information session kicked off a summer speaking tour that
will see Mr. Mernagh stop in communities across the province including
Peterborough, Lindsay, Windsor, London and Sarnia.

Oshawa's Aaron Dimming was part of the small but attentive crowd that
stopped by Kingside Clubhouse to see Mr. Mernagh on June 10.

The 22-year-old man has been dealing with chronic pain and digestive
disorders since he was a child and knows he meets the criteria for the
medical marijuana program.

He doesn't have a family doctor and says doctors at walk-in clinics
look at him like he's crazy when he asks them about filling out the
paperwork.

"They think, here's a kid who just wants to get high," he says. "What
I want is to not be in pain all the time and not to have to take
painkillers that make me tired and make me feel sick."

The federal government has until July 11 to fix the medical marijuana
program -- or effectively legalize possession.

Ottawa has appealed the judge's ruling in Mr. Mernagh's case and will
be in court June 22 applying for an injunction to the deadline.

Oshawa Cannabis Day is Saturday, July 2 from 2 to 5 p.m. in Memorial
Park.