APPEAL COURT FIXES FEDERAL POT PROGRAM

The Ontario Court of Appeal has struck down provisions of the federal
government's medicinal marijuana program, reinstating in the process
the prohibition against possession of small amounts of pot.

The decision released today struck down what it called
unconstitutional provisions of the federal Marijuana Medical Access
Regulations that govern the growth and distribution of the drug for
medicinal purposes.

Those provisions restricted licensed growers of medical marijuana from
receiving compensation for their product, from growing the drug for
more than one qualified patient, and from pooling resources with other
licensed producers.

But not only does the ruling eliminate those provisions of the program
that were considered unconstitutional, it also reinstates the
pot-possession laws that effectively were suspended in Ontario late
last year.

"This narrow remedy would create a constitutionally-valid medical
exemption, making marijuana prohibition . . . immediately
constitutionally-valid and of full force and effect, and removing any
uncertainty concerning the validity of the prohibition," said a
synopsis of the ruling issued by the court.

The ruling agreed with a lower court ruling in January that found the
regulations were unfair because they forced those who qualified under
the program to either grow their own pot or buy it on the black market.

"Many of these individuals are not only seriously ill, they are also
significantly physically handicapped and therefore cannot possibly
grow their own marijuana," the synopsis said.

"A scheme that authorizes possession of marijuana by seriously ill
individuals but which drives some of them to the black market . . .
undermines the rule of law and fails to create a constitutionally-valid
medical exemption to the criminal prohibition against marijuana."

The January ruling, by Ontario Court Justice Sidney Lederman, left
marijuana possession laws across Canada in tatters because it
effectively rendered marijuana prohibition in the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act of no force and effect.

Lederman gave the government a July 9 deadline to either fix the
regulations or supply the pot itself. The government then instituted
an interim policy where it supplies pot at set prices to approved users.

The government appealed the ruling, saying it shouldn't be forced to
provide a legal source of marijuana.

The initial lawsuit was launched by seven Canadians with various
medical conditions, along with their caregiver, who demanded the
federal government provide a safe and reliable source of medical marijuana.

Earlier this year, Ontario's laws against marijuana possession were
thrown into question after a judge ruled that possessing less than 30
grams of pot no longer is against the law in the province.