Constitutional Court and the medical marijuana controversy

Press release from 29.03.2018

The use of medical cannabis is a controversial topic with many strong opinions around the world. The Seychelles are among the countries that have recently amended the 2016 Drug Abuse Act to allow the use of the controlled drug for medical and scientific purposes, and the debate has now moved to the Constitutional Court.

29.03.2018

Seychellen.com

Author:
Karl Schnürch

Source:
Own research
Seychelles.digital

TODAY in Seychelles

In November last year, Ralph Volcere, through his lawyer Frank Elizabeth, filed a petition with the Constitutional Court against the Minister of the Interior, Macsuzy Mondon, instructing the Minister to issue regulations to implement the Seychelles Government's amended Misuse of Drugs Act 2016, which allows the use of cannabis for medical or scientific purposes. The Act also states that the Minister shall issue regulations to implement the Act. However, attorney Frank Elizabeth argues that the Minister has not exercised his legal obligation to implement the law since June 2016, thereby violating the constitutional rights of people who want to have access to this treatment, and cites in his petition the violation of the rights of Marie-Therese Volcere, the mother of his client, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and has no access to cannabis oil for pain relief and treatment.

According to a conversation with TODAY after a court submission by the Minister of Internal Affairs' lawyer on Tuesday morning, Mr. Volcere's lawyer said he asked the court to make an order.

"I asked the court to force Minister Mondon to say who can take cannabis and what kind of disease can be treated by the regulated drug, who can import, export, plant, research and whether we need a licence to do what the Minister did not do. I have also included the Minister of Health, Jean-Paul Adam, in the case because the Minister of the Interior, in consultation with him, should be involved in the implementation of this law," said attorney Frank Elizabeth.

In response to the petitioner's case, Minister Macsuzy, through her attorney, filed a submission with the Attorney General's office, saying that the court should dismiss the case because the petitioner could not bring a case to court to compel the government to do something it did not want to do, of which the Attorney General's office raised the preliminary objection that Mr. Volcere could not ask the court to make such an order because it is a political decision that the government must make.
The court gave the lawyer until Tuesday next week to reply whether or not he agreed with the submission and to give reasons for his reply.

According to attorney Frank Elizabeth, the use of cannabis has been shown to be good for incurable diseases like cancer, multiple sclerosis, depression and even for use by drug addicts, to name a few, by scientists around the world.

"I also consulted Dr. Jivan and he said that medical marijuana can be used to treat the pain caused by cancer. He also said that right now, doctors are using morphine, which is chemical, to treat the pain," the lawyer said. "Medicinal cannabis is organic and cheaper, so why not give people in need of urgent treatment access to this plant?" Attorney Frank Elizabeth.

"By passing the law, the government recognizes the benefits of the plant. But the big question is, "How will the law be implemented if the minister hasn't done anything about it?" the lawyer concluded.

Author: Karl Schnürch

In 2007 I started the website Seychelles.com to write everything I experienced from my head. Since then I have been constantly optimizing and expanding Seychelles.com to eventually present a complete picture of Seychelles on this site.