Kirk Tousaw's blog

BPF Submission to Heath Canada on MMAR Changes

Submitted by Kirk Tousaw on Tue, 08/02/2011 - 11:36am
in

SUBMISSION OF THE BEYOND PROHIBITION FOUNDATION IN RESPONSE TO PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS TO HEALTH CANADA’S MARIHUANA MEDICAL ACCESS PROGRAM

INTRODUCTION

The Beyond Prohibition Foundation was established in 2010 to advocate for the repeal of cannabis prohibition and its replacement with a system of regulated production and distribution.  It operates the website www.whyprohibition.ca, Canada's largest dedicated drug policy reform website and host to more than 30,000 members.  The Foundation's mission includes advocacy on behalf of safe access to medicinal cannabis and cannabis byproducts for those obtaining therapeutic and medicinal benefit.

This submission responds to Health Canada's consultation document titled "Proposed Improvements to Health Canada's Marihuana Medical Access Program" (the "Consultation Document").  In the Consultation Document, Health Canada foreshadows significant changes to Canada's medical cannabis policies.  The Foundation welcomes Health Canada's tacit acknowledgement that the current Marihuana Medical Access Regulation (MMAR) system is deeply flawed and in need of significant reform.  That reform is necessary in two primary areas:  (1) the need to improve access to the legal protections afforded by the legislative and regulatory scheme; and (2) the need to provide consumers with safe access to an effective supply of medicinal cannabis and cannabis byproducts.  This submission lays out the Foundation's view of the proposed changes and offers suggestions for making necessary improvements to the federal program.
Unknown Object Read more »

Legal Ease with Kirk Tousaw

Submitted by Kirk Tousaw on Tue, 06/21/2011 - 10:42pm
in

Join Executive Director Kirk Tousaw as he discusses ongoing cannabis law efforts in the Court and before local, provincial and federal legislatures.

video: 

Why I'm Voting New Democrat Tomorrow and Why You Should Too

Submitted by Kirk Tousaw on Sun, 05/01/2011 - 9:40pm
in

 

We are on the eve of a profoundly important election.  Tomorrow Canadians go to the polls with a clear choice:  the failed and contemptuous policies of Stephen Harper's Conservatives, or the sweeping vision of a prosperous, respected and free Canada offered by Jack Layton and the New Democratic Party.  I urge you all to vote and to be part of the change that is coming to Parliament.
 
For too long our democracy has been treated by Mr. Harper as an inconvenience, a thing to be treated with disdain and contempt.  He has shown his disregard in so many ways.  From refusing to tell the Canadian taxpayer how many billions he plans to waste on mega-prisons to shutting down the government rather than face a test of the House's confidence, Mr. Harper has dodged accountability for his actions at every step.   Read more »

Professor Hutchinson on Mernagh Decision

Submitted by Kirk Tousaw on Tue, 04/26/2011 - 1:50pm
in

Laws on medical marijuana – if they even exist at all – are a complete failure.

According to the judge who heard his case, Matt Mernagh “is a frail young man with a fragile yet genuine demeanour. He moves with difficulty, his body clearly showing the ravages of illness. Educated and articulate, he is using what little strength he has to focus attention on the unnecessary difficulties faced by himself and others like him, in attempting to access medicinal marijuana to cope with their debilitating illnesses.”

The brave Mernagh and his hard-working lawyer, Paul Lewin, assembled testimony sufficient to smash to smithereens the hollow illusion that Canada’s medical marijuana laws are serving the sick Canadians who need it. Read more »

Arrested for Democratic Protest

Submitted by Kirk Tousaw on Thu, 06/10/2010 - 11:40am
in
POLITICAL ACTIVIST JACOB HUNTER ARRESTED AT JUSTICE MINISTER'S OFFICE
 
10 June 2010
For Immediate Release
 
Jacob Hunter, the Foundation's Policy Director, was arrested today at Justice Minister Rob Nicholson's constituency office in Niagara, ON.  Mr. Hunter was there as part of a continuing series of protests being held at the offices of Conservative Members of Parliament by supporters of Marc Emery, a Canadian citizen a political activist recently extradited from Canada to the United States.  Another individual was apparently also arrested at the scene.  This is the first protest at which arrests have been made.

PhD Student Analyzes Cost of Conservative "punishment" agenda and writes to Taxpayer Federation

Submitted by Kirk Tousaw on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 3:54pm
in
Great blog post at "Tracking the Politics of 'Crime' and Punishment in Canada" a site I just learned of.  And it is a site well worth visiting.  I put it into my Google Reader immediately.
-----
Dear Kevin Gaudet (federal.director@taxpayer.com),
My name is Justin Piché and I am a PhD Candidate in Sociology at Carleton University. My current research examines the scope and factors contributing to prison construction in Canada at this time. Findings of relevance to your group, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, are those that pertain to the costs of building and operating these new facilities. Read more »

Drug Policy Event in Vancouver

Submitted by Kirk Tousaw on Sun, 04/25/2010 - 8:16pm
in
Engaging Human Potential Across the Life Course in the Prevention of Harm from Substance Use
 
April 26th, 12-4.30 pm
 
Segal Centre, 500 Granville Street
 
---
 
Please attend this event and ask what progress is being made toward the City's stated goal of regulated markets for all currently illicit substances.  You might also ask when the position recently vacated by Don McPhereson will be filled.
 
 

Government of Canada amends medical cannabis regulations, fails patients again

Submitted by Kirk Tousaw on Tue, 04/13/2010 - 12:54pm
in
As many of you know the MMAR have had a void since early March. There has been no limit on the number of designated production licenses that can be aggregated at any one facility. That restriction (section 54.1) had been 3 (the 3-max restriction). In Beren we were able to convince the Court to declare it invalid and the government was given a one year suspension of that declaration - until February 9, 2010.

Confusion abounds in medical cannabis production dispute

Submitted by Kirk Tousaw on Wed, 04/07/2010 - 8:21am
in
The ongoing saga over a medical cannabis production facility in Port Hope, ON, led me to write the letter below.  Mainly I wanted to demonstrate that none of the decision makers on the Council seem to have read the MMAR or have a real understanding of what the rules are.
 
Dear Ms. Cassin:
 
My name is Kirk Tousaw and I am a criminal lawyer in British Columbia.  I have read your coverage of the ongoing saga in Port Hope with interest and more than a little dismay.  Having litigated the constitutionality of Health Canada's Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) in a number of cases, I am intimately familiar with the current status of the government's regulatory scheme.  Below my signature I link the main decisions in this area and suggest starting with R v Beren as it is the most recent and comprehensive review of the law in this area.
 
Read more »

More from (fake) Conservatives on why ending drug prohibition makes sense

Submitted by Kirk Tousaw on Mon, 03/22/2010 - 10:01am
in
So it turns out that a little cutting and pasting is fun.  Here is another article in which I have substituted drug prohibition for the long-gun registry to make a point.  No, Minister Toews does not to my knowledge oppose drug prohibition; these are not his real views.  And MP Rae to my knowledge also does not oppose drug prohibition though he should.
 
--
 
The federal drug prohibition does not help keep drugs out of the hands of Canadians, says Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, and so should be abolished in favour of a stronger drug-licensing system.
 
Toews said Sunday there are more effective ways of spending taxpayers' money than to "harass consumers and sellers for drugs."
Syndicate content