LAWYERS, CLIENTS ON A HIGH OVER RULING

Lawyers and their clients who persuaded a judge to strike down the
medicinal marijuana regulations as unconstitutional were high on
yesterday's "bold" landmark ruling.

"Canada rules, that's for sure," Warren Hitzig, an applicants in the
constitutional challenge, said. "I'm very surprised, extremely ecstatic.
The judge made a fantastic decision. I would not have wanted to be in his
shoes."

"The judge said it's unconstitutional for medical users to use the
unconventional measures they had to use," said Hitzig, a founder of the
Toronto Compassion Centre, which sold medicinal pot to about 1,500
terminally ill people until it was raided last year. He and three others
still face charges.

"We're very gratified by the decision," lawyer Joseph Neuberger said. "It
addresses the concerns that we highlighted and puts real pressure on the
government to now put into place a regime that does provide them with
access to and (a) safe supply of medicinal marijuana. If they don't comply,
then possession is lawful and they're no longer subject to criminal law."

Neuberger was one of four lawyers who successfully argued before Justice
Sidney Lederman that the Marijuana Medicinal Access Regulations violated
constitutional rights.

But epileptic Terry Parker "wasn't thrilled" by the ruling.

In 2000, the Ontario Court of Appeal backed Parker's right to smoke pot for
medicinal purposes and gave Ottawa a year to revise the law. "I've been
waiting two years, now it will be another six months," said Parker, who
smokes pot daily to block his seizures. "It disturbs me, 2,400 to 4,600
people die from epilepsy. We need this immediately."

"This is the strongest decision we have to date about the climate of the
day with regard to decriminalization," said lawyer Leora Shemesh. Shemesh
said Lederman is saying "the Marijuana Medicinal Access Regulations are
ineffective, and that's probably the best signal we've received so far from
a higher court about possibly decriminalizing the entire regime."