Cannabis historian Chris Bennett visits the Joy TV show The Standard last fall about his current case regarding religious freedoms and the sacramental use of cannabis. Please visit Chris's blog at cannabisculture.com for the latest updates and documents relating to this important case in Canada.

"In an April 12 (2011) ruling in the case of R. v. Mernagh, Ontario Superior Court Justice Donald Taliano found that Canada's Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) and "the prohibitions against the possession and production of cannabis (marihuana) contained in sections 4 and 7 respectively of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act" are "constitutionally invalid and of no force and effect". The judge agreed with Mernagh, who had tried unsuccessfully for years to find a doctor who would sign his MMAR forms before being busted growing his own plants, that the medical marijuana program is inadequate for the needs of patients. The judge found that doctors' "overwhelming refusal to participate in the medicinal marijuana program completely undermines the effectiveness of the program" and that "the requirement for a medical doctor's declaration has rendered the MMAR unconstitutional". The Court struck down medical marijuana laws and the laws dealing with cannabis possession and production, giving the government 90 days to fix the program before the new rules come into effect." read more at whyprohibition.ca

"The Public Prosecution Service of Canada today confirmed that an application to stay the Ontario Superior Court decision in the case of R. v. Mernagh has been granted by the Court of Appeal for Ontario. The April 11, 2011 decision rendering invalid the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) and parts of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) is suspended until a decision is rendered by the Court of Appeal."

"Ontario Court of Appeal Dates Chosen R v. Mernagh" The court ruling gutting Canada’s federal medical marijuana program, personal possession and cultivation laws is set to be heard March 5 and 6.

Marc Emery signed a plea deal for a 5-year sentence in the US federal prison system, which was the only way to avoid the possibility of a mandatory minimum 30 years and up to life in prison. Marc's reasons for taking the plea deal in his blog post: