Traditional approaches to disability have depicted it as a health and welfare issue, to be addressed through care provided to persons with disability in the form of charitable handouts and similar measures. Persons with disability have been viewed as abnormal and deserving of pity and care, not as individuals who are entitled to enjoy the same opportunities to live a full and satisfying life as members of society. As a consequence, persons with disability have been excluded both from the mainstream of society, and have been denied or significantly limited in the enjoyment of our fundamental rights and freedoms.

If we want to stop this from happening here in British Columbia, then we need to defend these rights, to make sure these rights stay in the ownership of citizens with disability and that they don't get adapted to suit the interests of other people.

Medical Cannabis Campaign Continues, by Gayle Quin

We would like lo make a group submission to Health Canada for a medical license—an Authorization to Possess (ATP)— to possess medical marijuana. We want to have dozens, if not hundreds, of applications together in the spring. A desk will be set up at the CBoC headquarters to help members fill out forms. Once we have signed up enough members we can license the club's growers one at a time. This is in response to the October 7th, 2003, Ontario Court of Appeal's decision to strike down four sections of Ottawa's MMAR (Marijuana Medical Access Regulations).

It's important to start now by calling Health  Canada at 1-866-337-7705 and asking to have your application forms Sent to you. Don't wait to get them to make an appointment with your doctor. Also, write stories or letters regarding your medicinal use of cannabis to accompany your application. Let doctors and the government know what cannabis does for you. Get your Authorization to Possess (ATP) license and have legal access to medical marijuana for life.

Colby's charges in June 2002 were thrown out this past summer. Cannabis Buyers' Club member Dennis Fennel's possession charges from February 2003 were dropped recently, too. Hopefully, the warrant in question for Scott and Ryan's court case January 12 and 13, 2004 will also get thrown out. The Cannabis Buyers' Club in Coombs has been having problems securing a suitable location. The phone number is still 250-954-0363 A delivery service will help members until a new space is found.

MEDICAL CANNABIS CLUBS AND GROWERS TO BE LICENSED, by Ted Smith

Court Decisions in Canada have challenged the prohibition of Cannabis since Terry Parker, a Toronto man with severe epilepsy, began arguing his case in 1986. Since that time numerous judges have attempted to protect sick and disabled citizens from the law and force Health Canada to regulate a supply of cannabis to them.

The recent decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal on October 7th, 2003 is considered to be the most favourable in Canadian medical cannabis history. This decision has become known as the "Hitzig decision" named after one of the applicants, Warren Hitzig, the founder of the Toronto Compassion Club, who was arrested by police in August, 2002.

The judges struck down four sanctions of the Medical Marijuana Access Regulations.

This decision, in effect, opens die door for medical buyers' clubs to legally protect the growers and suppliers, while making it easier for applicants by eliminating the need for a second doctor. On the other hand, the technicality which had their possession of cannabis thrown out of court in Ontario last January, has been fixed by this decision. In the meantime, die Supreme Court of Canada must make a decision regarding die Caine / Clay / Malmo-Levine case which was heard last May, while police continue to enforce the possession laws across the country. Many assume that immediately after the Supreme Court strikes down the possession laws, new laws which re-criminalize cannabis will be introduced by the federal government that will include a reference to the Medical Marijuana Access Regulations.

MEMBER PROFILE, by Richard Whitwell

When first asked to relate my own story and feelings on medical marijuana, I knew the challenge would, at the very least provide an extended moment for reflection. As I remember... In 1969 In London Ontario, I was sentenced to a prison term for trafficking with hashish. I pleaded innocence claiming "medical use". I was nearly laughed out of court. I felt stunned and betrayed.

Over the next 10-12 years, I struggled with a myriad of prescription drugs to deal with everything from grand mal seizures to migraines, sleep disorders and digestive problems, to name a few. I felt desperate.

My fear of chemical use (Dilantin, Phenobarbital, Diazepam, Morphine, etc.), was my initial argument in court to support hash use, I felt victimized. With a renewed vigor, which I can only attribute to spiritual intervention, I spent the next 12 -15 years using only herbal and natural (homeopathic) supplements and remedies. I followed a stringent diet and consulted a bevy of alternative practitioners. I felt determined. After numerous refusals over the years for employment and accommodation, as well as in personal and professional associations, because of my one time "drug record", I felt discriminated against.

Today, I watch the current debate raging, see reasonable court decisions sidestepped by politicians with ulterior motives, big corporate brother controlling the current (dis)information on cannabis to secure the multi-billion dollar prescription drug industry, general public ignorance and apathy towards a half- century of research already proving medical claims. I feel appalled. Sometimes I see dedicated and knowledgeable individuals, like my friends at Cannabis Buyers Club, pushing the envelope, challenging the authorities, and putting their own asses on the line to break down the barriers of ignorance and discrimination. These individuals help supply medical marijuana to the thousands in our community alone, who choose this benign herb in lieu of the deadly alternatives, and I feel hopeful.

Perhaps this small effort in CANNABIS DIGEST will help to accomplish that end. And so I remain appalled and hopeful.

"Hitzig Decision"
ONTARIO COURT of APPEAL

pp. 23, 71,117, and 65 of Court of Appeal for
Ontario ref. C39532: C39738: C39740
ATP LICENSES: CALL Health Canada 1-866-337-7705

|23] The government accepts that reliance on the black market to fill a medical need would in most cases raise supply problems. It maintains, however, that marihuana is unique in that there is an established part of the black market, which the Government calls "unlicensed suppliers", that has for many years provided a safe source of medical ¦ marihuana. The Government argues that those who want to use marihuana for medical purposes have been "self-medicating", for years and know full well where to go to obtain the necessary medical marihuana. It is the Government's contention that this particular part of the black market does not present the problems that are generally associated with purchase of product on the black market. The application record offers some support for this contention. Many of the applicants do have well-established "friendly" sources in the black market from which they can safely acquire reliable medicinal marihuana. It is ironic, given the Government's reliance on this part of the black market to supply those whom the Government has determined should be allowed to use marihuana that the police, another arm of state, shut down these operations from time, presumably because they contravene the law.
[71] The record here makes clear that these limitations on supply in the MMAR present real and significant challenges to ATP holders. Many individuals who establish requisite medical need under the MMAR and obtain ATPs will have to go to the black market on a more or less regular basis to maintain their supply of medical marihuana. As the Government acknowledged in argument, the MMAR scheme assumes the existence of the black market in marihuana. Indeed, it depends on the black market. Without the black market, the scheme set out in MMAR would be a sham. In short, in their actual operation, the MMAR require what is as far as we know, a unique partnering of the Government and the black market to fill serious and recognized medical needs.
[117] A Government scheme that depends on the criminal element to deliver the medically necessary product, and that drives those in need of that product to the black market strikes at the same values that underlie the state's obligation to obey the law. The MMAR far from placing the Government in the position of a positive role model or on the moral high ground, are calculated to bring the law into disrepute and devalue the worth and dignity of those individuals to whom the MMAR are applied. The Government's obligation to obey the law must include an obligation to promote compliance with and respect for the law.
[165] Taking these considerations together, we conclude that the remedy which most directly addresses the constitutional deficiency presented by the absence of a licit supply of marihuana is to declare invalid sections 34(2), 41(b) and 54 of the MMAR. This will allow the DPL holders to be compensated, to grow for more than one ATP holder, and to combine their growing with more than two other DPL holders.

During an interview on Pot-TV (Oct.27/2003), Jack Layton, the federal leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada announced his personal support not only for medical cannabis, but also for the full legalization of it if his party gets into office. However, critics have noted that "the party has yet to define its' position publicly". Jack envisions pot cafes, and an open approach to public access to this wondrous herb. He has also noted prohibition laws have been ineffective, and legalization is a more preferable option.

In his interview with Marc Emery, the former city of Toronto councilor stated that millions of Canadians have smoked cannabis and they, their families and friends don't feel that they should still be criminalized. Rumours persist that the Canadian Marijuana political parties may fold as cannabis advocates move their support to the NDP. Decriminalization partially addresses the larger issue regarding possession, but it falls -short of addressing the issues of safe access, especially as medicine. Jack would like your vote when the next election unfolds, and would like you to join the NDP in an effort to lead this country into a new era of democracy, where public input is viewed in a serious manner. Please ask your local NDP representatives to support their party leader on this issue, and make the legalization of cannabis a prominent part of the party's agenda in the upcoming federal elections.

UPCOMING COURT EVENTS

All Trials at the Victoria Courthouse

Jan. 7 Constitutional Court Challenge
Leon "Ted" Smith Trial Arrangement Hearing

Jan. 12-13     Scott & Ryan's Trial from Feb 2003 raid 10AM - Courtroom #201

Cannabis Digest is a quarterly publication of the International Hempology 101 Society, which provides current legal, medical and political updates concerning the use, growth and supply of cannabis to those in need of medicinal cannabis. Cannabis Digest will focus on the members and supporters of the Cannabis Buyer's Clubs of Canada (CBC of C).
The CBC of C's mandate is to provide cannabis to people with incurable physical medical problems or as otherwise directed by their doctor. This includes individuals with rare, obscure medical conditions where either the symptoms or side effects of prescription drugs can be alleviated by using cannabis. Also, for people suffering from permanent physical pain or diseases, the ability of cannabis to induce relaxation, stimulate the appetite and help with sleeping is fundamental to maintaining a tolerable lifestyle.
The International Hempology 101 Society is an incorporated nonprofit society dedicated to educating the public about hemp, cannabis and prohibition. We educate about agricultural, environmental and industrial advantages of growing hemp and usir.g other ecc-friendiy products, as well as the medicinal and spiritual uses of cannabis and other plants and substances. We educate about the roots of prohibition, who or what we are up against and what we need to do individually and collectively- in order to change the laws and misconceptions, which are suppressing the remarkable cannabis sativa plant.

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