Candian Cabinet Tweaks Medical Marijuana Law
May 27th, 2009 by Rick
After a Canadian Federal Court ruled last year that allowing only one medical marijuana patient per licensed grower was a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canada’s Cabinet increased the limit to two patients per producer. This slight increase has sparked heavy criticism from the MP’s and advocates for medical marijuana.
A Health Canada spokesman, Philippe Laroche, said in an e-mail:
As a result of (the Federal Court ruling), the government has moved quickly to address this regulatory void and has modified the (regulations) to allow one designated person to now produce marijuana for up to two authorized persons. [...] This modification is currently in force.
Eric Nash, a licensed Vancouver Island marijuana supplier under the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations said:
From one to two patients, that’s just insane.
Despite several hundreds of requests from medical marijuana patients, Nash and his partner are limited to one patient each.
New Democrat MP Libby Davies said:
From the beginning, the federal government has been dragged kicking and screaming into accepting the use of marijuana for medical reasons.
Davies also says that the government ruling is “abysmal” and that the courts should reverse the decision eventually. Health Canada is aware that thousands of medical marijuana patients receive their marijuana through “Compassion Centers” but that marijuana is not regulated for quality and safety and it’s source is usually the black market.
