Canada legalises marijuana use on medical grounds

By ANDREW BUNCOMBE

Canada has become the first country in the world to legalise the widespread medicinal use of marijuana - allowing people suffering from chronic illnesses to grow and smoke the drug.

The regulations will allow thousands of people to harvest the plant or name a third party provider to grow it for them.

The Canadian Government is also overseeing the production of its own supply in a former mine in the central Canadian province of Manitoba.

"This is a good thing, although it does not go far enough," said Paul Lewin, spokesman for Canada's Marijuana Party. "But the reason this is happening is that the Government was forced to do so by the courts. It is not as though our government is any more enlightened than anyone else's."

The new regulation came about after the case of Terrance Parker, a 44-year-old man with epilepsy who says the drug is the only way to control his seizures. He smokes up to four joints every day.

In 1996 Mr Parker was arrested for possession, cultivation, and trafficking after police raided his home and seized more than 70 marijuana plants. Mr Parker argued that his constitutional rights were being abused and a judge agreed. Last year, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the court's ruling – paving the way for other sufferers to grow and use the drug.

In his ruling Judge Marc Rosenberg said: "I have concluded that the trial judge was right in finding that Parker needs marijuana to control the symptoms of his epilepsy. Forcing Parker to choose between his health and imprisonment violates his right to liberty and security of the person."

Canada's position puts it in stark contrast to that of the United States. While eight states in the US have moved some way towards permitting the medicinal use of marijuana, the US Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that there were no circumstances when its use was permitted.

This raises the possibility that someone who is permitted by their state to use the drug, could be arrested by federal officials. Chuck Thomas of the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project said: "We're kind of envious of Canadians having the luxury of complaining about the minutiae of the programme. It seems like a reasonable system."

In Britain, trials of the medicinal use of marijuana have been going on for the last two years. Earlier this year the trials were extended to include thousands of people suffering from chronic pain.

But campaigners in Canada say that despite of the new regulation, there is still too much bureaucracy attached. The new rules permit the use of the drug for the terminally ill with a prognosis of death within one year, those with symptoms associated with specific, serious conditions and those with other illnesses who have statements from two doctors saying that conventional treatments have not worked.

People suffering from severe arthritis, cancer, HIV/Aids and multiple sclerosis will all be eligible. But there are signs that the regulations could be eased. More than 500 applications for use of the drug are pending and many more are expected.

The Canadian Justice Minister Anne McLellan has said that the issue of decriminalising the drug should be explored. In order to be able to fulfil its legal requirement to sufferers, the Canadian government has awarded a $Cdn3.5 million ($5.5m) contract to Prairie Plant Systems to grow and harvest marijuana in the former mining town of Flin Flon, Manitoba. The first harvest is expected in a few months. One shop in the town has sold more than 6,000 T-shirts bearing the slogan: Flin Flon – Marijuana Growing Capital of Canada.

- INDEPENDENT