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http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n380/a04.html?180

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n394/a03.html?180

Friday I attended Jim Wakeford’s appeal at Osgoode Hall in Toronto. It was very disturbing to hear Federal Crown Roslyn Levine ramble on in such compassionless circles over the politics of this medicine. The Crowns submissions were ridiculous and contradictory. She opposed the appeal for caregiver protection, referring to caregivers as unmonitored “drug dealers”. Then would argue they saw no access difficulties to date through his regular “dealers”. He was chastised for not taking advantage of his right to cultivate. He had stated he lacked the health, the experience, the money and the room in his apartment for an indoor grow. The Crowns position was that if he wanted it badly enough he would convert his office or living space and suggested it was his personal decition not to, and that his money could be used differently. (She forgot a dieing person on disability has little $.) They argued that he had no difficulty growing on his downtown balcony last year.
(See- “A Harvest and a celebration”

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1678/a11.html?40094)

When the three judges hit her with direct questions like why has nothing been done by the government in over 20 months to deal with these issues she said, it was certainly something that the Minister is working on and that he is considering his steps carefully. When asked why so long, if they are giving out exemptions for people who need it to ease suffering and promote life, they said that any evidence that it is beneficial medicinally is purely anecdotal at this time. Anne Trembley, a media relation’s officer for Health Canada recently stated their official position that “cannabis has no therapeutic value.”
The Crown complained as they did in April that the case was before the wrong court and that it should be in Federal court. Then Ms. Levine said it should not be the place of the court to dictate government agenda on this.
I never heard the crown answer a straight question, and I really tried hard. It was obvious how flustered she was becoming under fire as she spilled her water all over her documents. That was her “crowning” moment, imho.
All in all, Alan Young put his case forward as eloquently and artfully as usual. The writing is on the wall on this one. We shall wait and see if this court has the courage to make the right decision. The reporters I spoke with called it Wakeford 1- Ottawa 0.
The hearing ended and I came home feeling pretty good until I woke to the news that the police had raided Jim Wakeford’s medical co-operative last night. York Police stole a 150 or so of his plants and charged the man with possession with the intent to traffic. How much more of this harassment should we have to endure? This inappropriate police action on a sick exempted Canadian is exactly why we need our courts to force Ottawa to action, and quickly! Ottawa is at war with cannabis users and growers and holding sick people hostage. According to the Justice Minister, the war is about to escalate to accommodate U.S. drug war puppets in the U.N. Unfortunately it looks like we will need to take more sick beds to more courtrooms in the future if we are ever to expect this government to listen to the will of the people in this country.

Steven Bacon
Federal Exemptee
I attended Jim Wakeford’s appeal at Osgoode Hall in Toronto. It was very disturbing to hear Federal Crown Roslyn Levine ramble on in such compassionless circles over the politics of this medicine. The Crowns submissions were ridiculous and contradictory. She opposed the appeal for caregiver protection, referring to caregivers as unmonitored “drug dealers”. Then would argue they saw no access difficulties to date through his regular “dealers”. He was chastised for not taking advantage of his right to cultivate. He had stated he lacked the health, the experience, the money and the room in his apartment for an indoor grow. The Crowns position was that if he wanted it badly enough he would convert his office or living space and suggested it was his personal decision not to, and that his money could be used differently. (She forgot a dieing person on disability has little $.) They argued that he had no difficulty growing on his downtown balcony last year.
(See- “A Harvest and a celebration”

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1678/a11.html?40094)

When the three judges hit her with direct questions like why has nothing been done by the government in over 20 months to deal with these issues she said, it was certainly something that the Minister is working on and that he is considering his steps carefully. When asked why so long, if they are giving out exemptions for people who need it to ease suffering and promote life, they said that any evidence that it is beneficial medicinally is purely anecdotal at this time. Anne Trembley, a media relation’s officer for Health Canada recently stated their official position that “cannabis has no therapeutic value.”
The Crown complained as they did in April that the case was before the wrong court and that it should be in Federal court. Then Ms. Levine said it should not be the place of the court to dictate government agenda on this.
I never heard the crown answer a straight question, and I really tried hard. It was obvious how flustered she was becoming under fire as she spilled her water all over her documents. That was her “crowning” moment, imho.
All in all, Alan Young put his case forward as eloquently and artfully as usual. The writing is on the wall on this one. We shall wait and see if this court has the courage to make the right decision. The reporters I spoke with called it Wakeford 1- Ottawa 0.
The hearing ended and I came home feeling pretty good until I woke to the news that the police had raided Jim Wakeford’s medical co-operative last night. York Police stole a 150 or so of his plants and charged the man with possession with the intent to traffic. How much more of this harassment should we have to endure? This inappropriate police action on a sick exempted Canadian is exactly why we need our courts to force Ottawa to action, and quickly! Ottawa is at war with cannabis users and growers and holding sick people hostage. According to the Justice Minister, the war is about to escalate to accommodate U.S. drug war puppets in the U.N. Unfortunately it looks like we will need to take more sick beds to more courtrooms in the future if we are ever to expect this government to listen to the will of the people in this country.

Steven Bacon
Federal Exemptee