LICENSED TO LEGALLY TOKE, MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS STILL FACE
RUN-INS WITH THE LAW

Vycki Fleming is careful with her words when she talks about marijuana.

She uses the term "medicating" when she refers to eating or smoking
marijuana.

She doesn't have a grow op at her house, she has a medicinal
garden.

It's deliberate and Fleming not only acknowledges it, but brings the
subject up.

It's one of the first steps she's taken to separate herself from
potheads, criminals and owners of illegal marijuana growing operations.

Taking steps away from all that starts with the language that you use,
she explained.

Fleming is a legal marijuana user, licensed by the government. She's
also an advocate for other medical marijuana users, working with those
who are trying to access a medical marijuana licence or are having
trouble with the law because of their marijuana licence.

About 10 years ago Fleming was using 17 different medications,
everything from painkillers to tranquilizers.

It was costing about $30,000 for the prescriptions and thousands more
in hospital stays, she said.

Five years ago she started smoking marijuana medicinally and the
symptoms went away, though Fleming said smoking was only masking the
symptoms, and didn't cure anything.

That began to happen only when she began eating cannabis, she said.

Fleming has since abandoned all her prescription medication.

"I no longer take anything, not one prescription drug," she said.

It sounds like Fleming should be happy with the way her health has
turned around.

But continued run-ins with the law and struggles with Health Canada
continue to frustrate her, she said.

A lot of Fleming's frustration stems from no one seeming to know
exactly what medical marijuana users need to have on hand to prove
that their licensed users.

The federal government provides licensed users with two documents - a
package of paperwork and a card that's roughly the size of a driver's licence.

Almost everyone wants to see Fleming's card whenever she's grilled
about her marijuana usage.

But the card isn't legal proof of anything. According to Health
Canada, what's needed is the stack of paperwork that comes with the card.

It's a reality that seems to have fallen on deaf ears when Fleming has
been approached by law enforcement officers.

Police routinely ask for the card, she said, and ignore the paperwork.
They also want to know how much marijuana she's carrying and where her
"grow" is located, she said.

Fleming's allowed to produce, or grow, her own marijuana. Her licence
allows her to grow 126 plants, have 6,570 grams in storage and carry
about 900 grams with her at all times.

Yes, that's a lot of marijuana.

Fleming explains that it's meant to be treated like any other
prescription - if you are allowed to carry 900 grams worth of
Percocets or any other prescription with you, the same rule applies
for marijuana.

"But I would never carry that amount on me," Fleming said. "I would
worry about getting robbed."

According to Health Canada, the amount a user is allowed to possess is
set by an individual user and his or her physician. The physician must
approve the amount before assisting a patient with an application to
become a licensed user.

Fleming smokes about 30 grams a day, which she rolls into joints and
keeps in a cigarette package.

She's also allowed to medicate anywhere she likes, whether it's in the
privacy of her own home or walking down George St.

Health Canada advises users not to smoke in public places, or expose
people to second-hand marijuana smoke. But there's no law prohibiting it.

The only caveat Health Canada requires is that users adhere to any
municipal smoking bylaws that are in place.

It's a little known fact that has put Fleming in conflict with local police.

In July Fleming was at a downtown bar when she stepped outside to medicate.

She wasn't drinking, she said, and moved about a block down the street
to smoke her joint.

The bouncer at the bar refused to let her back in, she said, and
called the police several times to complain.

That led to an altercation with two officers who showed up to answer
the call, she said.

Fleming said she was detained for almost three hours while she tried
to answer police questions and verify her status as a legal user.

In October 2010 Fleming had a run-in with OPP officers from the
Peterborough County detachment at the Simcoe St. courthouse.

Fleming was there to drop off documents for a friend and said she
medicated on the way to the courthouse.

The aroma of freshly burned marijuana was clinging to her when she
entered the courthouse.

She was quickly pointed out to police. Fleming said two officers
followed her to her car and insisted that she provide them with her card.

Fleming said she showed them her paperwork required to possess and
smoke marijuana legally.

"Right there, it should have ended."

But police persisted, she said, lecturing her for 15 minutes and
implying that she was mentally ill.

Fleming has since complained about the altercation. An investigation
by the OPP's professional standards bureau found that the officers
committed no wrong-doing.

Fleming said there's not any legislation in place to protect medical
marijuana users. Little work has been done to educate other agencies,
like law enforcement, probation and parole about the rights of medical
marijuana users, she said.

City police Insp. Ted Boynton acknowledged that the emergence of
medical marijuana, and licenced users, has been a challenge for police.

Boynton said police aren't notified whenever someone obtains a
licence, and most medical marijuana users will never come to the
attention of the police.

But there are users who smoke anywhere, he said, or roll joints in
public places where everyone can see.

Boynton acknowledged that licensed users have a right to do that. But
it often results in a call to police, he said, by a concerned resident
who has no way of knowing that the smoker is licenced.

Officers have to respond to that call, he said, and then must take
steps to insure the user is licensed.

That a user can possess several pounds of marijuana at any given time
is also a concern, he said.

It opens the door for street-level robberies and home invasions, he
said, and can be a concern for neighbours.

Boynton suggested that it would be helpful for police if medical users
contacted them and informed them of their licence.

That's something Fleming has no intention of doing. She frequently
states that any of that information is protected under the Privacy Act.

Health Canada states that it can only provide limited information
about a medical marijuana user, namely information that states whether
a user is within the confines of the law or not.