Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 4 13 those wanting to be LPs and there is a market for advising and assisting the LPs." Conroy is now preparing a Federal Court case to be heard in February 2015 to protect the rights of medical marijuana users to continue cultivation of their own plants or keep their designated supplier in the face of Health Canada's new MMPR program. In March 2014, Conroy won an injunction in Allan v. HMTQ grant- ing relief for medical users who faced the loss April 1 of their production rights under the old regulations. The MMAR was a government response to a 2000 court decision (R v. Parker) that ruled if government allowed the use of marijuana for medical purposes then it must also provide reasonable access to medical mar- ijuana for patients. Otherwise, they would be forced to the illegal market. Health Canada estimated there were less than 100 individuals registered for the MMAR program in 2001 but over the years the number has swelled to 40,000. Health Canada maintains the shift to commercial-scale producers is needed as home-based, grow operations were presenting community concerns rang- ing from fire hazards to home invasion. "The Government's goal is to treat dried marijuana as much as possible like other narcotic drugs used for medical purposes," a Health Canada press release stated in response to the March injunction. Conroy says he will be arguing again a constitutional challenge — just as ear- lier users should not be forced to go to the illegitimate sources for supply jeopardizing their liberty — those with limited economic means should not be forced to buy from LPs. Individual medi- cal marijuana users claim they can grow their own supply for a fraction of what it will cost when purchased from a com- mercial LP. Conroy argues licensed pro- ducers are not going after the lower end of the market, but have a price threshold that marginalizes most fixed or disability income users. Although doctors can pre- scribe the marijuana as a treatment, it is not covered by medical plans. He points to the current market where only 20 per cent of medicinal marijuana users actually purchase their supplies from government agencies, while the remainder is through designated grow- ers or home-grown operations. The new program also comes with restrictions that are not workable, he claims. "The MMPR limits the individual's supply to 150 grams or a 30-day supply, whichever is the lesser." That would provide a hard- ship for individuals. "If you use more than 5 g a day, you are virtually house- bound," he says. While Conroy will be arguing to entrench the rights of the individual grow- er in the new MMPR, the Crown is argu- ing it needs to provide the whole market to the LPs to be economically viable. Conroy, though, says the whole issue of LPs is fraught with uncertainties and there is no indication Health Canada is licensing individuals beyond the current registrants. "There is a ton of people who have spent huge amounts hoping to become an LP," he says, but at this point the government has only licensed 13 companies. "There are hundreds [of applicants] but they are just being sloughed off." The rush to launch companies has also caused the Canadian Securities Admin- istrators to raise an alert in June warn- ing investors. "Just the announcement of intent to develop a medical marijuana business has resulted in an immediate rise in a company's stock price. The CSA is concerned investors may face finan- cial harm by purchasing such shares at an inflated price before there is a viable business," it said in a press release, add- ing "companies cannot legally conduct a medical marijuana business without a licence from Health Canada," a lengthy and costly process. Conroy says large LPs in Canada also face competition from offshore mar- kets with lower production costs as the new regulations allow imports. Jamaica is decriminalizing possession of small amounts and permitting its use for medic- inal uses. He has already seen how changing leg- islation both in Canada and the U.S. has impacted the legal profession and changed the game plan for lawyers. While the number of criminal possession charges has plummeted, the same has occurred for the number of cases involving grow opera- tions for trafficking in the Fraser Valley. B.C.'s grow operations once streamed product into Washington's illegal market. However, now Colorado and Washington have legalized pot, it has affected the whole supply chain. There are also 22 other U.S. states now allowing medicinal marijuana use with more expected to follow. Seattle criminal lawyers have "gone out of busi- ness" prosecuting charges for possession, says Conroy. That's a far cry from the early 1970s when Conroy started defending individuals charged with possession and facing jail time. As Conroy works to extend the bound- aries of legalized marijuana use, the irony is not lost on him. Eventually, as litiga- tion sets down new rules for the dis- tribution and supply of marijuana and liberalization affects more countries, there will be fewer clients for criminal lawyers such as Conroy. "We are work- ing to put ourselves out of business," he says, "maybe we should all have become tax lawyers. We know that is something that is never going to change." — JeAN SoReNSeN jean_sorensen@telus.net

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