Medical Marihuana 2015


Course Date: May 29, 2015

Total: 5h 2min

Welcome and Introduction

John W. Conroy, QC — Conroy and Company, Abbotsford
Kirk I. Tousaw — Tousaw Law Corporation, Duncan

The Canadian Legislative History of Cannabis (Marihuana) for Medical Purposes—from Prohibition to Regulation

  • Mackenzie King and the Opium Narcotic Act
  • the Narcotic Control Act and Regulation 53
  • the Controlled Drugs and Substance Act
  • Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) and compassion clubs
  • legal bases for compassion clubs: R. v. Parker and Mernagh v. Canada
  • Marihuana for Medical Purposes (MMAR, MMPR): Allard v. Canada, R. v. Smith 
  • the Criminal Code and impaired driving
  • the Food and Drug Act
  • Natural Healthcare Product Regulation and cannabis exemptions
  • Health Canada and the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health Report Marihuana's Health Risks and Harms
  • the Criminal Code and impaired driving 

John W. Conroy, QC — Conroy and Company, Abbotsford
Kirk I. Tousaw — Tousaw Law Corporation, Duncan

Networking Break

A Primer on Cannabis (Marihuana)—What it is and its Current Use in Medical and Other Practices

  • cannabis: natural origins and early evolution
  • the uses of cannabis as fiber, food, and oil
  • historical psychoactive and non-psychoactive ritual and recreational uses
  • early medical uses
  • contemporary medical uses
  • pharmacology and ethnobotany of cannabis
  • modes of consumption and the different effects

Moderator: Kirk I. Tousaw — Tousaw Law Corporation, Duncan
Dr. Caroline Ferris Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Family Practice, University of BC, Surrey
Dr. Jonathan Page  Adjunct Professor, Department of Botany, University of BC, Vancouver
Professor Zachary Walsh, PhD, RPsych Centre for the Advancement of Science and the Law, University of BC, Kelowna

Networking Lunch

Medical Marihuana: Current Law and Practice in BC and Canada

  • local government issues, policy, and zoning issues
  • enforcement, nuisance and safety, and local government issues
  • incorporation of non-profits, licensed producers and other clubs
  • taxation issues (GST and PST)

Moderator: John W. Conroy, QC — Conroy and Company, Abbotsford
Alistair G. Campbell Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers, Vancouver
Donald I. Howieson Young Anderson, Vancouver
Robert W.E. Laurie Ad Lucem Law Corporation, Vancouver
Sukhbir Manhas Young Anderson, Vancouver

Networking Break

The Future of Medical Marihuana: Legalization or Litigation?

  • the MMPR scheme
  • employment human rights 
  • the impact of R. v. Allard: patient cultivation upheld
  • the impact of R. v. Smith: production of cannabis extract products upheld
  • to a natural healthcare products mode?
  • the trend towards "legalization" of cannabis (marihuana) production in Canada, the US, Europe, and globally 

John W. Conroy, QC — Conroy and Company, Abbotsford
Gabriel M.A. Somjen Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Kirk I. Tousaw — Tousaw Law Corporation, Duncan

Concluding Remarks

John W. Conroy, QC — Conroy and Company, Abbotsford
Kirk I. Tousaw — Tousaw Law Corporation, Duncan