The Respondent, Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative (Cooperative), was a not-for-profit medical cannabis dispensary established after California voters enacted a measure that created “an exception to California laws” that prohibited “the possession and cultivation of marijuana.” The Cooperative had a physician as its medical director, registered nurses as staff during business hours, and dispensed marijuana to …Read more

Cristina Beatriz Alcalá filed a guarantee of protection of individual constitutional rights (amparo protection) against the Ministry of Health and Social Action to obtain the drug, Indinavir, to continue her treatment against AIDS and to test her viral load. She indicated that the treatment consists of a cocktail of drugs consisting of AZT, 3TC and …Read more

Asociación Benghalensis and other non-governmental organizations involved in HIV work brought action pursuant to the Constitution of Argentina and Law No. 23.798 against the government for its failure to provide health services, treatment and special administration of medicines to people living with HIV. Law No. 23.798 declared the response to HIV to be a national …Read more

The plaintiff filed a guarantee of protection of individual constitutional rights (amparo protection) in the name of her son, who suffered from Kostmann’s disease, a severe bone marrow defect. Because of this disease, the plaintiff’s son was entirely dependent on a medicine called Neutromax 300. From June 1996 to December 1998, the National Bank of Antineoplastic …Read more

The European Communities and their member States challenged Sections 55.2(1) and 55.2(2) of the Patent Act of Canada, which created exceptions to the exclusive rights of patent owners, as violating provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS” or “TRIPS Agreement”). Under Article 28.1 of the TRIPS Agreement, parties were to ensure patent owners the …Read more

Dina Rosa Vieira brought the case against the municipality of Porto Alegre for failing to provide medication for the treatment of AIDS. Vieira was destitute and unable to afford the medication herself. The first instance court ruled in favor of Vieira and ruled that in light of the constitutional principles protecting the right to health …Read more

The Petitioner sought to appeal an earlier order of the Supreme Court requiring that seized drugs be returned. In that case, the Court had declared a search warrant invalid for failing to meet constitutional requirements, and required the Petitioner to return the drugs seized in a contraband raid. The drugs had been found genuine upon …Read more

Terrance Parker suffered from severe epilepsy since he was a young child. He could substantially reduce the incidence of seizures by smoking marihuana, but he had no legal source of marihuana. Parker was charged with cultivating marihuana under the Narcotic Control Act and with possession of marihuana under the new Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. …Read more

The applicant was an inmate of Warkworth prison and a long time heroin addict. While an inmate, the applicant sought to overcome this addiction. The Correctional Service of Canada had a 2-phase program to address addiction cases.  Phase I provided regular doses of methadone “only to those entering federal prison… already enrolled in a community …Read more

The petitioners were a group of persons living with HIV. They filed a writ of amparo against Venezuela’s Ministry of Health and Social Assistance (the Ministry). The Petitioners asked the Court to enjoin the Ministry to provide, free of charge: (1) the regular and periodic delivery of antiretroviral drugs and medication for opportunistic diseases; (2) …Read more