POT ACCESS UP TO COURTS - SENATOR

Canadians Support Use Of Medicinal Grass, Group Says

If medicinal marijuana becomes easily accessible in Canada, it'll be
because the court system filled a void left by legislators, a public forum
in Halifax heard Friday.

Senator Pierre Claude Nolin said there is little political will in Ottawa
to help chronically sick people get the pot they say eases their suffering.

He said it could take a landmark case to persuade Parliament to reform its
medicinal marijuana rules.

Cannabis is used by people with the virus linked to AIDS, multiple
sclerosis and other conditions.

Mr. Nolin, a Quebec lawyer, said denying Canadians "the autonomy" to decide
how best to treat their illness contravenes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

He said an Ontario court ruling has already criticized Ottawa on the
pot-access issue, and a watershed judgment could be in the offing.

"One day it may happen and that will rock the boat," said Mr. Nolin, who
headed a Senate committee on illegal drugs that last fall recommended pot
smoking for adults be legalized and regulated.

"The courts will trigger the need for (political) leadership," the
Conservative politician told a forum hosted by Maritimers Unite for Medical
Marijuana.

Mr. Nolin said the government has enough information from reliable research
to act. "We have studied it enough," he said.

Ottawa allows for medicinal pot use but speakers at Friday's event said
legislative and bureaucratic measures make it difficult to obtain.

Debbie Stultz-Giffin, chairwoman of the Maritime group, said the
marijuana-acquisition program is not nearly compassionate enough.

She said the rules place medicinal users in crisis situations and force
them to use surreptitious means to buy pot.

Ms. Stultz-Giffin said public opinion polls show 86 per cent of Canadians
support the use of medicinal marijuana.

In September, Mr. Nolin's committee recommended legalization over
decriminalization because the latter would leave the production and sale of
cannabis in the hands of organized crime.

The committee's report was hailed by marijuana activists but condemned by
the Canadian Police Association.