B.C. Supreme Court justice strikes down section of medical marijuana law VS / Louise Dickenson / 4.13.2012 Owen Smith (centre), the Victoria man who was the head baker for the Cannabis Buyers’ Club of Canada, will still have to stand trial on charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking and unlawful possession of marijuana. Click here to download the PDF of the decision A B.C. Supreme Court justice has struck down a section of Health Canada’s medical marijuana laws. Friday morning, Justice Robert Johnston concluded that the restriction to dried marijuana in the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations is unconstitutional as it breaches Section 7 of the Charter of Rights. “The remedy for this breach is to remove the word ‘dried’ where it appears in the medical marijuana access regulations and I so order,” said Johnston. Owen Smith, the Victoria man who was the head baker for the Cannabis Buyers’ Club of Canada, will still have to stand trial on charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking and unlawful possession of marijuana. Smith is to appear in court April 25 to fix a date for jury selection and trial. Friday morning, his lawyer Kirk Tousaw called the ruling a partial victory. “The medical marijuana access regulations are unconstitutional. They have been stricken. That goes into effect immediately,” he told Smith’s supporters outside the courtroom. “I suspect because Owen broke the law and was supplying to people who weren’t just MMAR people, he doesn’t get to walk away from this just because the law is unconstitutional.” The parties have been told to appear in court at 2 p.m. The Crown may apply to declare Johnston’s ruling invalid or ask for some time to allow the government to respond. Crown prosecutor Peter Eccles said he needed to read the judgment before deciding what to do. Smith launched his court challenge in January. Tousaw argued that under the charter, Health Canada’s medical-marijuana program is unduly restrictive and constitutionally flawed because permitted users were only allowed to possess marijuana for medical reasons in dried form. “Even an authorized person, under Health Canada’s regime, is unable to produce cannabis butter to make cookies to eat before bed, or when they get up in the morning to deal with chronic pain,” he said.