We provide medicinal cannabis products to legitimate patients with a valid medical need. Located at 11696 224th Street, Maple Ridge, BC V2X 6A2 Phone: 604-477-0557 Fax: 604-477-0575
Our goal is to provide high-quality medicinal cannabis products to legitimate patients with a valid medical need.
We are OPEN 11am-7pm every day, except some holidays.
A Maple Ridge man should receive $30,000 to cover the cost of seven joints of marijuana a day because of botched back surgery, the B.C. Supreme Court has said in a potentially landmark decision.
Michael Joinson, a 43-year-old father of five teenagers who has a federal exemption to use the prohibited drug, estimated he consumed 20 grams of medicinal cannabis daily after lower-back surgery in 2007.
He had asked the court to order payment for "a lifetime supply," which he calculated would cost $822,000.
But Justice Neill Brown would only approve payment "based on a maximum of five grams per day," he wrote, Health Canada's stipulated "safe" dosage.
Also, he said, the cost of Joinson's recreational use (about half his consumption) should not be covered, and the total had to be reduced to account for the benefits of a chronic-pain program.
Head of the non-profit Always Growing Green Society, which operates the year-old TAGGS Medical Cannabis Dispensary in the South Haney neighbourhood, Joinson received a total of $310,000 in damages — including lost earnings and medical expenses — as a result of negligent lower-back surgery by Dr. Navraj Heran.
Joinson said Tuesday he was glad the decision will set a precedent for medicinal-cannabis users but was disappointed in the global award.
"It was supposed to be for the rest of my life," he noted.
"What I go home with [after paying bills] is $110,000 or so for not being able to do the things I could do for the rest of my life. That's a drag. But of course, it's a huge win for all medicinal-marijuana patients across Canada. The justice recognized the benefits of medicinal cannabis and included it as future-care cost."
The court accepted the evidence that Joinson reduced his reliance on morphine by managing his pain with cannabis.
"Without use of medical marihuana [the legal spelling of the plant's name] or a synthetic substitute, Mr. Joinson would have to increase his use of morphine, which is detrimental, particularly to his functioning: he does not function as well, physically or mentally, without use of medical marihuana," Justice Brown wrote. "His treating physicians endorsed this treatment option, supporting him in his use of medical marihuana. Other physicians may disagree, but his family physician and psychiatrist see him on a regular basis and, in this particular instance, are in the best place to consider what is medically necessary."
Joinson had been suffering with lower back and left leg pain when he went in for surgery, but three operations since 2007 left him with chronic back pain and other discomforts.
imulgrew@vancouversun.com Read the judgment at http://bit.ly/lIR2aw
A doctor has been ordered to pay the president of a Maple Ridge marijuana dispensary more than $300,000 following a botched back surgery.
Michael Joinson, who heads the non-profit Always Growing Green Society, which operates Taggs Medical Cannabis Dispensary, won a total settlement of $310,289.14 to cover his loss of earnings and medical care as well as medications to treat pain, including cannabis capsules, dried marijuana and cannabis blended into baked goods such as cookies.
Dr. Navraj Heran, a neurosurgeon, admitted he was negligent while performing a surgery on Joinson's lower back, but denied the surgery was solely responsible for the gradual onset of his chronic pain.
Heran targeted the wrong vertebrae in the first operation, requiring Joinson to have two more surgeries to his lower back.
Joinson says he consented to the first surgery, did not consent to the second, and consented to the third.
Besides requesting compensation for wages lost because he is unable to work, Joinson submitted a claim of more than $800,000 to fund a lifetime supply of medical marijuana.
The court awarded Joinson far less for his medical costs, giving him a total of $50,469 (included in the total $300,000 settlement) for medication, including marijuana.
According to a written judgement released last week, Joinson said he smoked approximately 10 grams of marijuana a day to treat pain in his back and knee.
A doctor testified his use of marijuana had allowed him to reduce his consumption of morphine.
Taggs dispensary opened in Maple Ridge last year and currently has more than 300 members.
All members of Taggs must have documentation from Health Canada or a registered physician to buy marijuana.
We now carry papers, grinders, scales, rolling trays, collector rolling trays, ashtrays, paper tins, glass screens, pipes, three kinds of bubble pipes, bongs made in Canada, hand carved wooden rolling trays, torch lighters, glass spoons for smoking budder and lighters... our prices are marked to please.
T.A.G.G.S. Dispensary opens its doors on May 4th, 2010 and is providing its members with medicial cannabis products.
T.A.G.G.S. would appreciate if the community would show some support by writing comments on the Maple Ridge Times website, using your Twitter account.
We also provide Delivery Service to hospitals, hospice and home bound patients. Please call 604-477-0557 or Fax 604-477-0575
We also offer a mail order service!
All payments should be made out to 'T.A.G.G.S. Dispensary' and mailed to 11696 224th Street, Maple Ridge, BC, Canada V2X 6A2.
A message for our mail order members: Do not send any packages or envelopes that require a signature upon delivery. We will not accept them and they will be returned to you at your own expense.
