This was posted on facebook and I am just posting it here for other Canadians who might be interested to read...
Further to our recent telephone conversation this will confirm that the costs issue is under active consideration between the Department of Justice and ourselves and once the matter is settled I will provide you and others, with an accounting.
Everyone is very grateful for the work of the MMAR Coalition (now Cannabis Rights Coalition) in raising substantial funds initially in late 2013 and throughout to enable us to take the action, obtain the injunction pending trial in March ,2014, obtain the final order in the patient's favor in February,2016 and requiring the government to restore essentially the MMAR by August 24, 2017. The Task Force on Legalization will report to the government in November,2016 and the government will apparently commence the legislative process towards legalization in the spring of 2017 and obviously there will be more changes in relation to the "reasonable access for medical purposes" in a legal regime instead of being an exception under a criminal law statute – namely the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Here is the October 9, 2016 update from the MMAR Constitutional Challenge link on my webpage, with some slight modifications and emphasis, and additions that sets out my current opinion and instruction/advice to all "medically approved" patients:
1. Those of you who are covered by the Allard decision, and in particular the injunction Order of March 21, 2014 of Justice Manson continue to be protected by that Order and the final Order "until this Court orders otherwise" as per Justice Phelan, February 24, 2016 - 2016 FC 237;
2. Those of you who were not covered by Allard may now apply under Part 2 of the ACMPR since August 24, 2016 to register to produce for yourself or to have a designated person produce for you at the production site that is specified in the application. This enables those of you who wish to change your previous MMAR site to now apply to produce at the new location. The ACMPR application is not a renewal nor a transition and you do not provide any of your old medical documentation in support of your application. You have to get a new "medical document" under the ACMPR and provide the "original" of that document with your application to register;
3. I recommend that those of you covered by the Allard injunction and Orders also apply under the ACMPR for the same coverage that you have under the MMAR as the provisions of the ACMPR are substantially if not identical to the MMAR in terms of the formulas in relation to dosages per day. You need to get a new " medical document" from your physician/doctor and as under number 2 above, you do not send in MMAR documents but the 'original' of that document. This way you may be covered under both the Allard injunction and the ACMPR before any new changes are made. Further, you will not simply be at the mercy of the Courts further order whatever that might turn out to be;
4. If you experience problems obtaining the same thing under the ACMPR as you had on the MMAR, please do NOT call my office, but prepare a statement of the problems that you have experienced that limit what you had or continue to have under the MMAR that arise from the ACMPR so we can see what problems the new regulations pose for patients and can submit that to the court to demonstrate the problems when it comes to that court making any further orders. This should be sent by snail mail or email to my office or to the MMAR Coalition at cannabisincanada@gmail.com;
5. If your problems are with your physician/doctor in relation to dosage or otherwise ,this is not caused by the ACMPR, except to the extent that it carries forward the doctors as gatekeepers from the MMAR, but by the Canadian Medical Association and Provincial Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons. If you experience these problems a statement by snail mail or email should also be sent to my office indicating this type of problem so we can determine what proceedings can be taken against those bodies for restricting reasonable access. You should also consider filing a complaint against her doctor with the local provincial college or complaining to the college about its unreasonable restrictions on the patient's "reasonable access";
6. The ACMPR consists essentially of the MMPR in Part 1 and the MMAR and Part 2 with a few changes. The Task Force on Legalization will report in November and new "legalization" legislation is expected in the spring of 2017 that will further address medical "reasonable access" in the context of a legal regime and not the continued prohibition regime that currently exists - this is where further changes will arise.
Consequently, in my opinion, medically approved patients whether grandfathered under the MMAR or new applicants, including old MMAR applicants who were not covered, should apply under the ACMPR to try and obtain the equivalent of what they had under the MMAR and keep a record of any problems they have on obtaining "reasonable access" and provide them to cannabisincanada@Gmail.com to keep a record of them for possible introduction into evidence to show the problems with the ACMPR if this matter goes back to court in front of Justice Phelan in a further effort to modify the injunction order, challenge the doctor gatekeeper role or possibly upon the application of the government to end the injunction order. In my opinion, even if you can't obtain your same dosage as before, you should obtain whatever possible dosage the doctor will allow and then worry about trying to get a greater allowance afterwards. Those with current large dosages should be prepared to explain and justify the need and perhaps also obtain the report of an expert/specialist.
I would recommend that a list also be kept of those doctors that are abusing the process by taking kickbacks from the LPs or charging exorbitant fees be kept as well as one that identifies honest and knowledgeable and informed doctors in this area so that other patients can be referred to and treated by knowledgeable physicians and the others are avoided and perhaps reported to the local College of Physicians and Surgeons.
John W. Conroy QC
Conroy & Company
Barrister & Solicitor
2459 Pauline Street
Abbotsford, B.C.
Canada
V2S 3S1
Webpage: www.johnconroy.com
Email: jconroy@johnconroy.com
Tel: (604) 852 5110
Fax: (604)859 3361
Further to our recent telephone conversation this will confirm that the costs issue is under active consideration between the Department of Justice and ourselves and once the matter is settled I will provide you and others, with an accounting.
Everyone is very grateful for the work of the MMAR Coalition (now Cannabis Rights Coalition) in raising substantial funds initially in late 2013 and throughout to enable us to take the action, obtain the injunction pending trial in March ,2014, obtain the final order in the patient's favor in February,2016 and requiring the government to restore essentially the MMAR by August 24, 2017. The Task Force on Legalization will report to the government in November,2016 and the government will apparently commence the legislative process towards legalization in the spring of 2017 and obviously there will be more changes in relation to the "reasonable access for medical purposes" in a legal regime instead of being an exception under a criminal law statute – namely the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Here is the October 9, 2016 update from the MMAR Constitutional Challenge link on my webpage, with some slight modifications and emphasis, and additions that sets out my current opinion and instruction/advice to all "medically approved" patients:
1. Those of you who are covered by the Allard decision, and in particular the injunction Order of March 21, 2014 of Justice Manson continue to be protected by that Order and the final Order "until this Court orders otherwise" as per Justice Phelan, February 24, 2016 - 2016 FC 237;
2. Those of you who were not covered by Allard may now apply under Part 2 of the ACMPR since August 24, 2016 to register to produce for yourself or to have a designated person produce for you at the production site that is specified in the application. This enables those of you who wish to change your previous MMAR site to now apply to produce at the new location. The ACMPR application is not a renewal nor a transition and you do not provide any of your old medical documentation in support of your application. You have to get a new "medical document" under the ACMPR and provide the "original" of that document with your application to register;
3. I recommend that those of you covered by the Allard injunction and Orders also apply under the ACMPR for the same coverage that you have under the MMAR as the provisions of the ACMPR are substantially if not identical to the MMAR in terms of the formulas in relation to dosages per day. You need to get a new " medical document" from your physician/doctor and as under number 2 above, you do not send in MMAR documents but the 'original' of that document. This way you may be covered under both the Allard injunction and the ACMPR before any new changes are made. Further, you will not simply be at the mercy of the Courts further order whatever that might turn out to be;
4. If you experience problems obtaining the same thing under the ACMPR as you had on the MMAR, please do NOT call my office, but prepare a statement of the problems that you have experienced that limit what you had or continue to have under the MMAR that arise from the ACMPR so we can see what problems the new regulations pose for patients and can submit that to the court to demonstrate the problems when it comes to that court making any further orders. This should be sent by snail mail or email to my office or to the MMAR Coalition at cannabisincanada@gmail.com;
5. If your problems are with your physician/doctor in relation to dosage or otherwise ,this is not caused by the ACMPR, except to the extent that it carries forward the doctors as gatekeepers from the MMAR, but by the Canadian Medical Association and Provincial Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons. If you experience these problems a statement by snail mail or email should also be sent to my office indicating this type of problem so we can determine what proceedings can be taken against those bodies for restricting reasonable access. You should also consider filing a complaint against her doctor with the local provincial college or complaining to the college about its unreasonable restrictions on the patient's "reasonable access";
6. The ACMPR consists essentially of the MMPR in Part 1 and the MMAR and Part 2 with a few changes. The Task Force on Legalization will report in November and new "legalization" legislation is expected in the spring of 2017 that will further address medical "reasonable access" in the context of a legal regime and not the continued prohibition regime that currently exists - this is where further changes will arise.
Consequently, in my opinion, medically approved patients whether grandfathered under the MMAR or new applicants, including old MMAR applicants who were not covered, should apply under the ACMPR to try and obtain the equivalent of what they had under the MMAR and keep a record of any problems they have on obtaining "reasonable access" and provide them to cannabisincanada@Gmail.com to keep a record of them for possible introduction into evidence to show the problems with the ACMPR if this matter goes back to court in front of Justice Phelan in a further effort to modify the injunction order, challenge the doctor gatekeeper role or possibly upon the application of the government to end the injunction order. In my opinion, even if you can't obtain your same dosage as before, you should obtain whatever possible dosage the doctor will allow and then worry about trying to get a greater allowance afterwards. Those with current large dosages should be prepared to explain and justify the need and perhaps also obtain the report of an expert/specialist.
I would recommend that a list also be kept of those doctors that are abusing the process by taking kickbacks from the LPs or charging exorbitant fees be kept as well as one that identifies honest and knowledgeable and informed doctors in this area so that other patients can be referred to and treated by knowledgeable physicians and the others are avoided and perhaps reported to the local College of Physicians and Surgeons.
John W. Conroy QC
Conroy & Company
Barrister & Solicitor
2459 Pauline Street
Abbotsford, B.C.
Canada
V2S 3S1
Webpage: www.johnconroy.com
Email: jconroy@johnconroy.com
Tel: (604) 852 5110
Fax: (604)859 3361
