Canadian Justice Runs Out of
Patience With Government
Before Patient Runs Out Of Time;
Exempts Wakeford From Marijuana Laws. Implications for Others
(Marijuananews note: This ruling puts great
pressure on the government.)See
Canadian Patients Can
Apply For Medical Use Of Marijuana, But There's Still No Legal Source.
-- "It’s unfair. It’s just patently unfair," Says Superior Court
Justice.
"I’m sick. I’m scared. I need help not harassment." Says AIDS Patient
and links
May 11, 1999
From The Toronto Star
lettertoed@thestar.com
http://www.thestar.com/
By Barbara Turnbull and Tracey Tyler, Toronto Star Staff Reporters
JUDGE ALLOWS MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA
AIDS patient awaits health ministry ruling on medical treatment
A Toronto man dying of AIDS has won a constitutional exemption from being prosecuted
for using marijuana as medical treatment to relieve symptoms of his disease.
Saying he was "personally impressed and comforted" by the federal
government’s action on the medical use of marijuana, Mr. Justice Harry LaForme
granted Jim Wakeford an interim exemption until Health Minister Allan Rock rules on the
case.
"I’m in shock and I’m ecstatic," Wakeford, 54, said after
yesterday’s landmark ruling by the Ontario Superior Court judge. "This is a big
victory for a lot of people."
LaForme had dismissed Wakeford’s request for an exemption last fall when federal
lawyers argued the terminally ill man should apply directly to Rock using a provision of
the Controlled Drug and Substances Act.
But the judge decided to reopen the case after hearing new
evidence last week that showed the government had never had an application process.
"They’ve been hoping that I’d croak along the way and it (the issue)
would go away for a while," said Wakeford, who uses marijuana to stimulate his
appetite and combat pain and nausea.
Wakeford dutifully applied to Rock for an exemption after LaForme’s ruling last
September, but his request has been in bureaucratic limbo.
Carole Bouchard, a senior health department official, testified last week that,
although his application would be fast-tracked, she couldn’t say when a decision
would be made.
Despite the delays - it took the government two months to acknowledge Wakeford’s
application - LaForme said there has been progress. An application process was set up on
the eve of last week’s hearing.
But LaForme criticized the government for blatant unfairness in
demanding Wakeford identify the source of his marijuana supply in conjunction with his
application.
"Given that there are no legal sources of marijuana in Canada, I would hope that
Mr. Wakeford would not be jeopardizing his application by exercising his legal right not
to answer what I view as an unfair question."
Wakeford’s lawyer, Alan Young, said LaForme’s ruling will have implications
for 20 other Canadians with chronic or terminal illnesses who have applied to Rock for the
same type of exemption.
"This exerts tremendous pressure on the government, because I would think the
government would like to have control of this process, rather than have it thrust on them
by a court of law," he said.
Derek Kent, a spokesperson for Rock, called the ruling a positive development that
underscores the government’s good faith on the issue.
See
Is The Wakeford
Case A Way For Canadian Politicians To Duck DEAland Pressure On Medical Marijuana?
But the federal government is appealing a lower court decision in 1997 to stay
marijuana possession charges against Torontonian Terry Parker, who uses the drug to cope
with epilepsy.
"I have a lot of problems with (claims of) ‘good
faith,’ " said Young. One example of "bad faith" by the government is
the Parker appeal, he said.
Another is Bouchard’s admission health officials have not spoken with their
counterparts in the justice department about a moratorium on charging people who smoke pot
for medical reasons, Young said.
Copyright: 1999, The Toronto Star
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