Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Bay Area Reporter - July 26, 2001
Liz Highleyman
Beginning on July 30, patients will be issued photo identification cards that allow them to legally possess cannabis. The new rule makes Canada the first country with federal regulations regarding the use of medical marijuana.
The regulation is the result of an Ontario Supreme Court ruling last year in a case brought by an epileptic patient who claimed the right to use cannabis. The court instructed the government to change its criminal code to allow people with certain medical conditions to use the herb. The court had threatened to overturn Canada's marijuana laws if they were not changed to provide for medicinal use.
The new regulation provides for the use of medical cannabis with a doctor's medical declaration by persons with terminal illness (a prognosis of death within one year); those with serious medical conditions such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, or multiple sclerosis; and those with unspecified conditions that have not responded to traditional treatments. According to Canadian Health Minister Allan Rock, the new regulations will "improve the quality of life of sick Canadians, particularly those who are terminally ill."
The Canadian Medical Association does not support the new regulations, maintaining that too little is known about the use of marijuana as medicine. Former CMA president Dr. Hugh Scully said the new guidelines "plac[e] Canadian physicians and their patients in the precarious position of attempting to access a product that has not gone through the normal protocols of rigorous pre-market testing." The CMA's position is similar to that of the American Medical Association, which last month failed to endorse the use of medical marijuana and called for more research.
Canada's new regulations do not provide for an immediate legal mechanism for procuring the herb. Patients may grow their own cannabis, but there is currently no legal source of seeds or clones. They may also obtain it from a licensed supplier, but the government has not yet licensed any suppliers. The Canadian government plans to begin growing cannabis for medical use "sometime next year," according to Dr. Jody Gomber of Health Canada.
This Catch-22 is similar to that created by California's Proposition 215, which allows for medical use of marijuana with a doctor's recommendation, but does not provide for a means of marijuana distribution. As such, buyers' clubs that dispense medicinal cannabis remain in legal limbo.
Nevada law
In related news, Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn in June signed a law permitting the use of medical marijuana by seriously ill persons. The state will create a registry of qualified patients. The law also allows the state to apply for federal permission to conduct research on the use of cannabis to treat various medical conditions. Nevada citizens voted twice (in 1998 and 2000) to amend the state constitution to permit use of medical marijuana by seriously ill patients.
Changes in Oakland?
Finally, on July 10, an Oakland City Council committee reached a deadlock on a proposal to limit the amount of medical marijuana that patients may legally possess. Current city regulations allow patients to possess 144 plants or six pounds of dry marijuana.
On July 24, council voted 6-0 to cut the legal limit from 144 plants to 72 plants.
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