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JnEverett

Court asked to squash medical cannabis ruling
10-18-06 l IOL

The Hague - Dutch prosecutors said Wednesday they had asked the country's highest court to squash an appeals court decision allowing a man suffering from multiple sclerosis to grow his own cannabis.

"We introduced an appeals motion on Tuesday before the Supreme Court," said Marina Weel, spokesperson for the prosecutor's office in Leeuwaarden.

The government argues that the appeals court decision authorising Wim Moorlag, 51, to grow enough marijuana to alleviate the pain caused by his condition would set a dangerous precedent, leading to abuses of The Netherlands' otherwise tolerant drug laws.

It is legal in the Netherlands to sell and consume small amounts of cannabis and hashish in licensed cafes, but growing and trafficking the drugs are banned.

'Growing and trafficking the drugs are banned'
An appeals court ruling on Tuesday was the first exception ever made on the ban against cultivating cannabis, even for personal medical use.

Moorlag and his wife Klasiena Hooijer, also a defendant in the case, grew just enough cannabis to meet Moorlag's daily use of three grams, namely some 300 grams per harvest every 15 weeks.

Officially the possession and sale of cannabis is illegal in the Netherlands but it is tolerated under certain conditions.

Cannabis cafes, known here as coffee shops, are the only venues authorised to sell no more than five grams a day to people 18 years and older. People can have up to 30 grams of cannabis in their possession for personal use without being prosecuted.

Moorland argued he could not buy cannabis from coffee shops because it could contain harmful fungi and bacteria. This could be especially dangerous for MS patients as they are already weakened by their disease, his lawyers said.

In 2004 Moorlag and his wife were convicted with a fine of €250 (about R2 373) by a lower court.

On appeal this conviction was quashed because the court ruled that the personal interests of Moorlag to alleviate pain connected with his disease overrides the public interest in banning the cultivation of cannabis.

"This means that other patients can also legally grow their own cannabis, not just MS patients but also people with Aids," Moorlag's lawyer Wim Anker told the Dutch ANP news agency after Tuesday's ruling.

 

reggie_the_dog

no don't let people grow their own cannabis, especially for medicine in a country where you can get cannabis by prescription.

Its all about preserving the profits of the mafia and big pharma... There is a right wing government in power in the Netherlands. In pretty much all countries the right wing works for the mafia and big business.

Buzzby

Are the judges going to sit on it?

The writer doesn't seem to know the difference between "squash" and "quash". He uses them interchangeably.

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godfather

For some reason, I was under the impression medical marijuana patients could already grow their own in the Netherlands.