MEDICINAL POT USERS FEEL BURNED

Ruling Could Mean Canadians Will Have To Get Their Marijuana From Black Market

Alison Myrden says a legal supply of marijuana is "critical" for her
because the drug helps her deal with the pain of chronic progressive
multiple sclerosis.

Canadians who are allowed to use medicinal marijuana could be forced to buy
their medicine from the black market if a decision by the Ontario Court of
Appeal, expected today, rules that the federal government doesn't have to
provide pot to critically ill people.

Alison Myrden, one of the litigants in the case, said the issue of having a
legal supply of marijuana is "critical" for her because the drug -- which
she takes instead of more than 30 pills and morphine -- helps her deal with
the pain of chronic progressive multiple sclerosis and other ailments.

"I'm not walking away without winning," she said. "I've been fighting to
get the government to supply me for four years. That's all I want. I never
wanted to break the law."

Myrden said she hasn't yet applied to receive the government-grown
marijuana due to quality concerns.

So far, the pot being grown in Flin Flon, Man., by a company on contract to
the government hasn't had good reviews.

In today's ruling, the Ontario court could force the government to continue
supplying pot to medicinal users, while allowing it to uphold the laws
prohibiting pot possession.

The court could also rule the government doesn't have to provide a legal
source of pot to medicinal users, and continue to prohibit possession of
the drug.

That would mean that people who are approved to use the drug would have to
turn to an illegal supply source.

Another possibility is the court ruling that the laws prohibiting marijuana
possession are unconstitutional and hurt those who use pot for medical reasons.

Although the court can make further comments about Canada's medicinal
marijuana program, those are three possible outcomes of the decision, said
Alan Young, one of the lawyers arguing the case for seven ill people who
sued the government for a legal source of pot.

"The decision could effectively recriminalize marijuana or it could confirm
that the law does not exist because of deficiencies in the medical
program," Young said in an interview yesterday.

While that might decriminalize the possession of small amounts of pot, the
issue of who could distribute marijuana would still have to be dealt with,
he said.

"Just because you decriminalize marijuana possession doesn't mean that the
people who are going to distribute to medical users will be allowed to do
so," Young said, but added that would be the first step towards
decriminalizing the drug and establishing legal distribution channels in
Canada.

The appeal stems from a case in January in which Ontario Superior Court
Justice Sidney Lederman ruled it was unfair for the federal government to
allow people to use medicinal marijuana but put them in a position where
they have to buy it from the black market because Ottawa doesn't provide
legal access to cannabis.

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

If the court rules that the government doesn't have to provide marijuana to
medicinal users, Young expects the government will scrap its current supply
plan.