Health Minister of Canada 'Outraged' after Medibles Ruled Legal By Supreme Court
Canada's high court amended definition of medi-weed to include edibles and other forms
Canada's high court amended definition of medi-weed to include edibles and other forms
On Thursday, June 11, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down several sections of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that limited medical marijuana treatments to the smoking of dry herbal product. In backing the decision, the court elaborated that patients were being forced "to choose between a legal but inadequate treatment and an illegal but more effective one."
Medical marijuana patients will now be allowed to cook or bake their medicine into edible food products such as cookies, sauces and savory products or brew the plant into medicinal tea. Concentrates, topical products and other forms will also be available in the future.
The court's decision stems from a case involving Owen Smith, a pot baker for a Cannabis club who was charged with drug trafficking offenses when caught with 200 cookies.
Conservative Health Minister Rona Ambrose firmly opposed the decision, claiming that Health Canada should hold the final authority over such medical decisions. She told the gathered press conference that the decision had left her "outraged," adding that, "Marijuana has never gone through the regulatory approval process at Health Canada, which of course, requires a rigorous safety review and clinical trials with scientific evidence."
The court, in explanation of their unanimous decision, stated that, "inhaling marihuana can present health risks and that it is less effective for some conditions than administration of Cannabis derivatives."
Although some critics of Canada's previous medical Cannabis laws have expressed concern about the limited administration of medi-weed in smoke-only form. The court agreed, adding that restricting patients to one form of intake "unjustifiably violates the guarantee of life, liberty and security of the person."
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