MEDICINAL POT USER STILL IN LIMBO AFTER RULING

Bob LeDuc reveled in the sweet smell as Ottawa's medicinal marijuana
program went up in smoke Tuesday.

It never worked for the Guelph resident.

"That's good for me," said LeDuc, who has a federal exemption to
anti-pot laws so he can smoke marijuana to relieve symptoms of serious
illness.

Yet, its demise still leaves him in limbo.

"I still haven't figured out where my medicine is going to come from,"
said LeDuc.

Existing federal rules governing medical marijuana use are
unconstitutional because they forced people with serious illnesses to
turn to illicit black market sources, in violation of their right to
life, liberty and security of the person, the Ontario Court of Appeal
ruled yesterday.

The provisions in question restricted licensed growers from receiving
compensation for their product, growing the drug for more than one
qualified patient and pooling resources with other licensed producers.

The ruling also struck down a requirement that sick people get two
doctors to validate their need to use marijuana as a drug.

And the appeal court rewrote federal regulations governing the
possession and growing of medical marijuana in a way that puts the law
making it a crime to possess marijuana for any other purpose --
invalid since July 31, 2001 -- back on the books, effective yesterday.

LeDuc, 53, suffers from epilepsy, irritable bowel syndrome and
crippling psoriasis. Four years ago, he was among the first two dozen
Canadians granted a federal exemption allowing him to legally possess
and use marijuana to alleviate his symptoms and side-effects of treatment.

He said pot gives him enough relief so that he can earn a living
teaching guitar in his home studio.

LeDuc said Tuesday his exemption, which runs out next June, hasn't
helped to date because he's been unable to find a doctor to assist him
with his plight.

Under the old system, doctors prescribe the marijuana, but physicians
don't want to do so because they can't judge the quality when they
don't know where its coming from, LeDuc said.

LeDuc said he has a pipeline to the black market for his pot supply.
Help could be on the way thanks to a Toronto-based cannabis crusader
who said yesterday he intends to establish a warehouse where thousands
of pot plants can be grown.

Law professor Alan Young -- who represents Catherine Devries, 45, of
Kitchener and other medicinal-marijuana users -- said the warehouse
proposal, financed by bankers and stockbrokers, follows
recommendations by three judges who say drug laws should be
liberalized so medicinal users are guaranteed a safe supply.

Devries says smoking cannabis helps ease pain and severe nausea caused
by a variety of spine and bowel conditions. Commenting on yesterday's
judgement, she said she has mixed feelings.

Devries said she is pleased to see judges validating the fact sick
people benefit from smoking pot, disappointed she won't have an
uncomplicated, inexpensive way to buy marijuana and concerned
authorities won't be able to police legal or illegal home-grow operations.

Young said he hopes his warehouse will be open by spring to help
people like Devries as it takes advantage of a developing marijuana
market and provides another move toward decriminalization of pot.

Young said judges have removed pressure from government because they
set no deadline for recommended changes and made no reference to
Ottawa providing marijuana from a government crop developed in a
mineshaft at Flin Flon, Man.

After noting medicinal-marijuana users face risks of being cheated and
sold tainted product by street dope dealers, the judges said "many of
these individuals are not only seriously ill, they are also
significantly physically handicapped (and) cannot possibly grow their
own marijuana.

"The court concluded that a scheme that authorizes possession of
marijuana by seriously ill individuals but which drives some of them
to the black market to meet their recognized medical needs undermines
the rule of law and fails to create a constitutionally valid medical
exemption to the criminal prohibition against possession of
marijuana," judges said.

"It is ironic, given the government's reliance on (black market) to
supply those whom the government has determined should be allowed to
use marijuana, that the police, another arm of the state, shut down
these operations from time to time....because they contravene the
law," the judges said.

They ruled government should change existing regulations so that any
licensed cannabis grower can be paid for growing and supplying marijuana.

They also said regulations should be written to allow so growers to
produce medicinal marijuana for more than one user and be join forces
to produce larger crops.

The Court of Appeal case followed a judgement in January by Superior
Court Justice Sidney Lederman who also ruled it was unfair for
government to allow people to smoke marijuana but put them in a
position where they have to buy it from drug dealers.