aGameOfThrones
04-13-2011, 03:21 PM
Mr. Justice Donald Taliano of the Ontario Superior Court struck down the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations, arguing they aren’t doing enough to ensure patients can obtain the necessary approvals to use the drug. Simultaneously, he ruled two sections of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – those that prohibit simple possession and cultivating marijuana – are unconstitutional, since they can be used to criminally charge medicinal users who haven’t been able to obtain such approval.
The ruling means the government must either improve its system for licensing medicinal marijuana patients within 90 days, or it will become legal to use or grow the drug for any purpose. The government can, however, buy itself more time by appealing the ruling.
The ruling is not the first time the courts have come to the assistance of those who use cannabis to alleviate their illnesses. A 2000 Ontario Court of Appeal ruling compelled the government to create the medicinal marijuana program or have its prohibitions against cannabis thrown out altogether. Other court rulings have pointed to specific problems with the medicinal marijuana rules.
This, however, is the first time a court has thrown the whole thing out, said Jacob Hunter, policy director with the Vancouver-based Beyond Prohibition Foundation. Even though the current ruling applies only to Ontario, he said it would have ramifications across the country.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario/ontario-court-strikes-down-canadas-pot-laws/article1983105/
The ruling means the government must either improve its system for licensing medicinal marijuana patients within 90 days, or it will become legal to use or grow the drug for any purpose. The government can, however, buy itself more time by appealing the ruling.
The ruling is not the first time the courts have come to the assistance of those who use cannabis to alleviate their illnesses. A 2000 Ontario Court of Appeal ruling compelled the government to create the medicinal marijuana program or have its prohibitions against cannabis thrown out altogether. Other court rulings have pointed to specific problems with the medicinal marijuana rules.
This, however, is the first time a court has thrown the whole thing out, said Jacob Hunter, policy director with the Vancouver-based Beyond Prohibition Foundation. Even though the current ruling applies only to Ontario, he said it would have ramifications across the country.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario/ontario-court-strikes-down-canadas-pot-laws/article1983105/