November 29, 2011 – A Toronto man vowed to challenge a city bylaw that he said stops people from growing medical marijuana at home, on the same day a charge against him was dropped for creating a fire hazard by growing pot in his apartment.

Although William Palmer was charged under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, his lawyer Paul Lewin said he plans to challenge the bylaw that he said bars marijuana growing in the city. Mr. Palmer lives in a Toronto Community Housing apartment near Dundas and Sherbourne Streets.
More related to this story

Judge upholds decision to deny public funding for marijuana growing equipment
Getting medical marijuana to the people who need it
Province told to foot bill for woman’s medical marijuana

Mr. Lewin said that for people who need medical marijuana, the bylaw goes against equality rights set out in the Charter and the Ontario Human Rights Code.

“The bylaw doesn’t leave any room for medical marijuana growing at all,” Mr. Palmer said at Old City Hall court on Monday, shortly after the charge against him was dropped.

Mr. Palmer has a licence from Health Canada to grow medical marijuana to help him deal with symptoms caused by his HIV medication.

Court heard that the city withdrew the charge because it’s not a matter of justice to pursue the case. The city did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“Even [Toronto community] housing will not give me the permission to grow, but yet the government of Canada says I can grow,” Mr. Palmer said.

Mr. Palmer, 48, said that between October, 2008, and last year, fire, city or community housing officials came into his apartment and took away his plants and shut off the electricity three times.

He stopped paying his rent when the electricity wasn’t turned back on after the third incident, leading to his eviction and moving to his dad’s place next door. He said he’s not growing pot there.

Using pot eases the severe nausea and depressed appetite that come with taking HIV medication, Mr. Palmer said. He’s seeking upward of $50,000 in compensation for damages to his plants.

“The right to grow marijuana for medicine is a well-established right, this isn’t anything cutting edge,” Mr. Lewin said. “The law in Ontario is crystal clear. No one should have to choose between their health and the law.”

Mr. Lewin said he filed the challenge months ago and had asked that it be heard on Tuesday, the day before Mr. Palmer’s fire hazard charge was dropped. He said it’s expected to go to the Superior Court in the spring.

Since Mr. Palmer is on the Ontario Disability Support Program, he can only afford to grow rather than buy, Mr. Lewin said.

“The real issue here, I think, isn’t so much the specific details of this case. It’s the fact that there are people, lots of people, in this catch 22.”
By Cary Mills. Source.

June 24, 2010 - Lawyers for 35 people arrested during raids that shut down five compassion clubs in Quebec say they will mount a constitutional challenge to the federal government’s medical marijuana laws.

Supporters of those arrested during the raids on June 3 protested outside the Montreal courthouse Monday.

Inside, the 35 were formally charged with drug possession, trafficking and conspiracy.

Health Canada only offers one strain of medical marijuana, and the only legal way to purchase it is through the ministry.

Defence lawyer Jeffrey Boro, who is representing the co-founder of the Culture 420 club in Montreal’s Lachine district, said his client was simply filling in the gaps left by the federal government’s distribution program.

“The government is failing, as the courts have said … in their duty to put into place a system where people can lawfully obtain what they’re lawfully allowed to possess,” said Boro.

In early 2003, the Supreme Court of Ontario ruled that the medical access regulations were unconstitutional because they were failing to provide a legal supply of the drug. Ottawa responded later that year with a plan to provide dried marijuana or seeds to Canadians authorized to take marijuana for medical reasons. That plan — occasionally tweaked — remains largely intact to this day.

But it is time for the law to catch up with society, said Boro.

“I don’t believe that most, if not all, of the people who were here in court are criminals in the sense of the word that we often use,” he said.

“I would like to have a jury of 12 men and women under the age of 40 and watch to see if they’ll convict.”

Culture 420 co-founder Gary Webber, centre, and his lawyer Jeffrey Boro, right, say they will launch a constitutional challenge of Canada’s medical marijuana laws. (CBC)Boro’s client, Gary Webber, called the federal government’s distribution program “a total failure.”

Like many other medical marijuana users, Webber said he has been forced to turn to the streets to get the drug since the closure of the clubs.

He refuses to use the strain provided by Health Canada, calling it “poison.”

Some other medical marijuana activists have blamed Webber and his organization for the raids.

The recently opened Culture 420 club in Lachine and its second location in the Plateau district required only a declaration made before a commissioner of oaths from those interested in buying marijuana.

Other locations, including the Montreal Compassion Centre, have said they required a doctor’s prescription.

Police said they had received several complaints from residents about Culture 420.  Source.