Prohibition On Medical Pot Cookies Unconstitutional

Posted: 04/13/2012 3:28 pm Updated: 04/15/2012 2:26 pm


A B.C. Supreme Court judge has struck down a section of Canada's medical marijuana laws that said licensed users cannot possess pot cookies or marijuana body creams.


Justice Robert Johnston ruled the federal medical marijuana access regulation that allows permitted users to only possess dried marijuana is unconstitutional on Friday in Victoria.


The court challenge stems from the case of Owen Smith, who was charged with trafficking for baking pot cookies and producing topical cannabis creams for a medical marijuana club in Victoria in 2009.


Health Canada allows people suffering from debilitating illnesses to have access to marijuana for medical purposes. They can get the marijuana through Health Canada or they can get permission to grow it themselves.


But Smith's lawyer Kirk Tousaw successfully argued there is a contradiction in the law, which allows the designated users to smoke marijuana but prohibits them from turning it into any other product.


However, Justice Johnston also ruled even though Smith's constitutional rights were breached by the regulation, he will still have to stand trial for trafficking because he may have been producing the products for people who weren't permitted users.


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A B.C. Supreme Court judge has struck down a section of Canada's medical marijuana laws that said licensed users cannot possess pot cookies or marijuana body creams. Justice R...
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has struck down a section of Canada's medical marijuana laws that said licensed users cannot possess pot cookies or marijuana body creams. Justice R...
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SiameseTrainer
...we are Sia..mese if you don't please..
02:18 AM on 04/15/2012
"However, Justice Johnston also ruled even though Smith's constitutional rights were breached by the regulation, he will still have to stand trial for trafficking because he may have been producing the products for people who weren't permitted users" That "may have been producing for" is going to put one he!! of an evidentiary burden on the prosecution. I suspect either the prosecutors will drop or stay the charges. BC is in pre-election mode and the CONservatives in Ottawa cannot afford to lose any more drug cases in the Supreme Court of Canada.
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vogonpoet42
Illegitimus Non Carborundum
04:31 AM on 04/14/2012
When asked to comment on the court ruling, Sesame Streets Cookie Monster began giggling uncontrollably.
Jack Canuckski
Canadian Observer of the passing scene
01:13 AM on 04/14/2012
This weekend, both Obama and Harper are in Cartagena Columbia for a meeting of the leaders of the OAS countries.

There is now a concensus among the leaders of the countries that are at the pointy end of the war on drugs that the time has come for those drugs to be legalized. The ONLY two leaders that are reportedly supporting the continuation on the drug war are Obama and Harper. It is possible that they are about to lose their allies.

The drug war has been going on since it was launched by Nixon in 1971 and has proven to be a big, expensive, counterproductive failure. It should have been abandoned years ago, but it wasn't. Now, while both the US and Canada are trying to eliminate their deficits, would be a good time to end this ongoing socially and economically destructive policy and try a sane approach to drugs.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
piceaglauca
The picture says it all....
11:15 PM on 04/13/2012
We are slowly moving to something better as long as we continue to pursue our rights. Sooner or later this matter will be resolved. As for those who continue be brave. Push on.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Heather Blackett
07:23 PM on 04/13/2012
Thanks Huffington Post, for putting this life-changing medicine for people who suffer from serious debilitating diseases in the correct context by immediately following the article with "10 Best Stoner Flicks of All Time".
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SiameseTrainer
...we are Sia..mese if you don't please..
02:20 AM on 04/15/2012
Ain't AOL GREAT!? Fanned by the SiameseTrainer for getting it!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Hjorlejf
04:13 PM on 04/13/2012
How many times have our judges ruled the prohibition unconstitutional?
This is not the first, and none of these rulings seem to be doing much change.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
samseed
We're here for a good time, not a long time
03:45 PM on 04/13/2012
I have Crohn's disease, and smoking Cannabis mostly helps with my symptoms (Pain, appetite, and helps me sleep). Whereas eating cannabis oil or in food basically cures me of Crohn's. My inflammation goes away, and my ulcers heal. The human Endo-Cannabinoid system is an amazing thing. Cannabis supplements our bodies with over 60 different cannabinoids that we may be deficient in. The facts and evidence speak for themselves. Legalize Cannabis for all.