Heather Cannmed 6 hrs · TWISI: On January 8, 2015 in Nova Scotia, 36 year old Jamie MacDonald was sentenced to jail for 60 days after pleading guilty to growing 8 medical marijuana plants to treat Crohn’s disease that he has suffered from for over 20 years. Like so many disabled Canadians, I believe he thought the system would be fair given his doctor’s approved use of medical marijuana for a chronic illness even though the delay of his “annual” license renewal had created a technicality for charges. He thought he was pleading guilty to reduced possession charges (and avoiding improper ammunition storage charges) and would end up with a fine and probation which seemed reasonable as it would get it over quickly and be best for his health. Instead, he ended up being ill-served by an incompetent legal aid system and over-zealous crown then punished by a Judge who stated “a strong message of deterrence needed to be sent considering MacDonald’s ‘sense of impunity’ under criminal law and the Controlled Drug and Substance Act” when handing down the sentence. Mr MacDonald – who had no criminal record - was then handcuffed and taken into custody. Given that a “sense of impunity” is defined as “freedom from any risk of being punished for doing something wrong or bad” it seems to me that it is actually this Judge and crown attorney, as well as Health Canada and the Harper government, who are flagrantly displaying such arrogance. Jamie MacDonald was simply exercising his right to reasonable access to a medicine he needed for a lifetime health condition he never asked for. After all, he was previously licensed under the Medical Marijuana Access Regulations (MMAR) for 15 plants to provide for 3 grams of marijuana per day which would cost an estimated $550 - $1095 per year to produce in a home garden. With expired paperwork – and as with all new mm patients - the costs to be legally protected would balloon to a minimum of $5,490 and upwards to $13,140 for the same amount through the new MMPR Licensed Producer system. Obviously out of reach for this disabled pensioner, Mr. MacDonald acknowledged that his paperwork wasn’t in order and cooperated fully to expedite this matter before the courts, so if he should be accused of anything it should be “exercising common sense”. By delivering on the Crown’s request to “send a message of denunciation and deterrence” by putting this man into custody without a medical support plan because he was growing 8 marijuana plants, the Judge has trampled Mr. MacDonald’s rights. The true crime in this case is that proper legal defense – which was out of reach for this patient - would have likely resulted in charges being dropped, especially when one is aware of the unanimous decision of the Federal Court of Appeal in B.C. to uphold an Injunction to protect reasonable access to medical marijuana pending a Constitutional Challenge in February 2015. This case is much more about our right to life, liberty and security than it is about growing marijuana. It is yet another example of how our government has the power to introduce new regulations that restrict our rights unfairly and could just as easily be written about tomatoes or oregano in the future if court challenges are not successful. The two historical cases to be heard at Federal and Supreme Court levels in early 2015 will affect ALL Canadians. There’s never been a more critical time to get past the stigma of marijuana and unite together in fighting for our rights as it’s an expensive process that we can’t afford not to fund. Please get informed, get involved, make a pledge and share your knowledge with others. For more information about the Jamie MacDonald, please visit these links: https://facebook/groups/mummsociety/ youcaring/…/help-james-fight-injustice/289047 For more information about Allard et al vs. R. - the Constitutional Challenge at the Federal Court of Canada challenging reasonable access and the right to grow your own medicine johnconroy/mmar.htm mmarcoalitionagainstrepeal For more information about R. vs. Owen Smith – Cannabis’ first time appearance at the Supreme Court of Canada in defense of the right to use medical cannabis extracts including oils and edibles gofundme/frs21o CannabisDigest.ca
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 02:18:54 +0000
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