(Marijuananews note: There are so many people
like the man in this story, that the "individual cases" will be more numerous
than the clinical trials. This fact is going to make it even more difficult to delay
making medical marijuana available to all patients.)
See
Canadian Health
Minister Proposes "Clinical Trials" For Medical Marijuana;
Promises Immediate Access For Some Individuals.
"He doesn’t want a restrictive process that would deny access in compassionate
cases."
-- 2 ArticlesMarch 3, 1999
From The Toronto Star
lettertoed@thestar.com
http://www.thestar.com/
By Tracey Tyler, Toronto Star Legal Affairs Reporter
AIDS PATIENT FIGHTS FOR POT
See
Canadian
Health Minister Owes Medical Marijuana Activist Wakeford "An Apology
And Canadians An Explanation"
But he fears that court battle may be concluding
Anxious and in failing health from AIDS, James Wakeford feels his chances of getting
the federal government to allow him to use marijuana have just about gone up in smoke.
Six months ago, a Toronto judge suggested Wakeford apply to
Health Minister Allan Rock for an exemption from being prosecuted for possessing marijuana
for medical reasons, an option available under federal drug laws.
But after writing eight times to Rock and his officials, the 54-year-old still
doesn’t have an answer.
So Wakeford has returned to court, asking that a judge order Ottawa to not only let him
smoke marijuana, but to supply him with the drug he says stimulates his appetite and
reduces the side effects caused by his medications, such as weakness and nausea.
"The government is a black hole," Wakeford said in an interview this
week. "It’s my position that they have no intention of helping me without a
court order - and that’s what I intend to get."
Wakeford originally turned to the Ontario Court, general division last summer.
He became the first Canadian to launch a civil lawsuit against the federal government
for the right to use marijuana for medical purposes.
Although people with epilepsy and multiple sclerosis have made similar requests, they
were made while defending themselves against criminal charges.
"Mine was a pre-emptive strike," said Wakeford, who was admitted to hospital
twice last year for extreme weight loss, a near-fatal liver failure and hepatitis
contracted through an intravenous feeding line. "I’ve never been charged."
He’s tried using Marinol, a medication that contains
synthetic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, but it only made him sicker, he said.
See
AIDS Patient Mortal
Threat to Canada’s Cannabis Laws.
Doctor Says "I just find the marijuana laws ludicrous."
At the hearing last summer, Mr. Justice Harry LaForme ruled that Wakeford’s
constitutional rights to liberty and security of the person were, on the face of it,
violated by the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which prohibits marijuana use.
But LaForme went on to conclude that the act didn’t undermine the principles of
fundamental justice, because ministerial exemptions were available and Wakeford had yet to
apply for one.
"Mr. Wakeford’s terminal illness, its dreadful and painful effects on
him physically and emotionally, and his desire to treat himself effectively and in a
manner that allows him relief and dignity, surely qualify as rights," the judge said
in his ruling. "His choice (to use marijuana) harms no one."
Wakeford’s lawyer, Osgoode Hall law professor Alan Young,
sent the first of
several letters to Rock on Sept. 14, applying for the exemption and reminding him that
"AIDS is a fatal illness and Mr. Wakeford does not have the luxury of waiting
indefinitely for a response."
And on Nov. 18, Rock sent a letter to Young, acknowledging receipt of the request.
Justice department officials were giving it "careful attention," Rock said.
When nothing further was heard by Dec. 17, Young sent a final letter, concluding any
exemption written into the act was meaningless, and went back to court.
During a brief hearing in Toronto last week, Mr. Justice Archie Campbell suggested the
case be sent back to LaForme for consideration.
No court date has been set.
Wakeford, a former executive director of the Casey House Foundation, said a court order
forcing Ottawa to give him the exemption could help others who have made similar
applications.
Carole Bouchard, assistant director of the health department’s bureau of drug
surveillance, said she couldn’t discuss Wakeford’s case because it is before the
courts.
Supported