The Lancet, Volume 350, Number 9094
Author: Wayne Kondro
Contact: lancet.editorial@elsevier.co.uk
Website: http://www.thelancet.com/
Saturday 20 December 1997

A Toronto man is flying high after a judge ruled that it was unconstitutional for police to deprive him of the right to cultivate, possess, and smoke marijuana to alleviate the symptoms of epilepsy.

"I'm sort of overawed by the decision. It hasn't sunk in yet", said an elated Terry Parker on Dec 10. Ontario provincial-court judge Patrick Sheppard ruled that sections of the Controlled Drug and Substance Act were unconstitutional because they deprive Parker of his "right to life, liberty and security of the person" under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "Health is fundamental to the life and security of each person", wrote Sheppard. "It does not accord with fundamental justice to criminalize a person suffering a serious chronic medical disability for possessing a vitally helpful substance not legally available to him."

Evidence indicated that Parker had no major epileptic seizures while taking marijuana in addition to conventional drugs. Without marijuana, he had three to five grand mal and 15-80 petit mal seizures weekly. Sheppard said Parker had to grow the marijuana because it would cost Can$5000 a year to buy, leaving him little money from his disability pension. However, Parker was sentenced to 12 months probation for trafficking, because he admitted to giving marijuana to friends with epilepsy.

The federal Justice minister, who has been under increasing pressure to decriminalise the medicinal use of marijuana, said Sheppard's ruling will be taken under advisement.

Copyright © 1997, The Lancet Ltd.

Editors note: Published since 1823, The Lancet is considered the world's leading independent general medical journal.