ricky1lung
Well-Known Member
VANCOUVER -- Medical marijuana users who grow their own plants breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday as the Federal Court ruled it was unconstitutional to prevent them from doing so.
Vancouver resident Sita von Windheim, who grows her own medical marijuana, reckons she would be out about $80,000, plus the increased cost of her medicine, had the ruling gone the other way.
This is because she spent $35,000 on equipment and making sure the apartment where she grows the plants had the proper fire and ventilation measures in place. She also ripped out the carpet in the apartment and took out the kitchen and bathroom. Restoring the apartment to a state where someone could live there would cost another $50,000, she estimated.
The ruling means von Windheim, who uses medical marijuana to reduce the frequency and intensity of chronic migraine headaches, will be able to continue to grow the strain of marijuana that works for her rather than order it from a government-approved grower for about 10 times what she now spends. Choosing to buy her food at farmers markets, where she can be sure of the source, rather than large grocery store chains is another expression of the same principle, she said.
Mostly, von Windheim said, she was happy Federal Court Judge Michael Phelan recognized that people such as herself, who grow marijuana for their own personal use, should not be lumped in with criminal organizations that profit from its sale.
“He really understood what our situation was,” she said. “My big objection was being called names ... This really kind of vindicates us.”
Her sentiment was echoed by Abbotsford resident John Berfelo, who grows his own marijuana to treat chronic pain stemming from a spinal cord injury.
He felt a sense of violation, he said, that the government wanted to take away something he had spent years learning how to produce and gives him a better quality of life.
“The win today was a win for patients, basically a relief knowing that I’m still able to continue to grow my medicine and not have to grow it in fear, not have to be a criminal in the eyes of the law.”
Premier Christy Clark said while there are a lot of “interesting” ideas floating around about how to regulate marijuana when it eventually becomes legal — such as selling it in drug stores or liquor stores — the province will follow Ottawa’s lead.
“The federal government is going to change the criminal code so that marijuana will be available legally. We haven’t seen yet what those changes are going to look like, but we stand ready as a province to implement them,” she said. “I will say this though: One of the key things we need to address in the province is that when marijuana is legally available, it’s a legal product, it’s not benefiting people in organized crime, that it’s not going to be available to young people, and that it’s a safe product that consumers can rely on.”
Vancouver resident Sita von Windheim, who grows her own medical marijuana, reckons she would be out about $80,000, plus the increased cost of her medicine, had the ruling gone the other way.
This is because she spent $35,000 on equipment and making sure the apartment where she grows the plants had the proper fire and ventilation measures in place. She also ripped out the carpet in the apartment and took out the kitchen and bathroom. Restoring the apartment to a state where someone could live there would cost another $50,000, she estimated.
The ruling means von Windheim, who uses medical marijuana to reduce the frequency and intensity of chronic migraine headaches, will be able to continue to grow the strain of marijuana that works for her rather than order it from a government-approved grower for about 10 times what she now spends. Choosing to buy her food at farmers markets, where she can be sure of the source, rather than large grocery store chains is another expression of the same principle, she said.
Mostly, von Windheim said, she was happy Federal Court Judge Michael Phelan recognized that people such as herself, who grow marijuana for their own personal use, should not be lumped in with criminal organizations that profit from its sale.
“He really understood what our situation was,” she said. “My big objection was being called names ... This really kind of vindicates us.”
Her sentiment was echoed by Abbotsford resident John Berfelo, who grows his own marijuana to treat chronic pain stemming from a spinal cord injury.
He felt a sense of violation, he said, that the government wanted to take away something he had spent years learning how to produce and gives him a better quality of life.
“The win today was a win for patients, basically a relief knowing that I’m still able to continue to grow my medicine and not have to grow it in fear, not have to be a criminal in the eyes of the law.”
Premier Christy Clark said while there are a lot of “interesting” ideas floating around about how to regulate marijuana when it eventually becomes legal — such as selling it in drug stores or liquor stores — the province will follow Ottawa’s lead.
“The federal government is going to change the criminal code so that marijuana will be available legally. We haven’t seen yet what those changes are going to look like, but we stand ready as a province to implement them,” she said. “I will say this though: One of the key things we need to address in the province is that when marijuana is legally available, it’s a legal product, it’s not benefiting people in organized crime, that it’s not going to be available to young people, and that it’s a safe product that consumers can rely on.”
