Ron Marzel is a Canadian lawyer from
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
. His specialty is opposing
Canada's cannabis laws. He also represents
landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, ...
s. In 2008, he represented Dispensing With Care, a
coalition that was opposing restrictions on the Ontario Drug Benefits Plan.
Alan Young
Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British, Canadian and American actor, comedian, radio host and television host, whom ''TV Guide'' called "the Charlie Chaplin of television". His notable roles inclu ...
, another Toronto-based lawyer, advised Marzel in this case. In 2010, he was the
defence
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense indust ...
lawyer for Neev Tapiero, a member of Cannabis As Living Medicine (CALM). The case had been initiated by a
police raid
A police raid is an unexpected visit by police or other law-enforcement officers with the aim of using the element of surprise in order to seize evidence or arrest suspects believed to be likely to hide evidence, resist arrest, be politicall ...
on CALM's headquarters, which Marzel called "a totally inappropriate response to an organization that is seeking legitimization to help sick people." In a
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...
post, Marzel promised to seek court "condemnation" on the police raid and voiced his opposition to the "dysfunctional medical marijuana program" run by
Health Canada. In ''
Bedford v. Canada
is a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on the Canadian law of sex work. The applicants, Terri-Jean Bedford, Amy Lebovitch and Valerie Scott, argued that Canada's prostitution laws were unconstitutional. The ''Criminal Code'' included a numbe ...
'', Marzel sought to have
Canada's anti-prostitution laws declared unconstitutional, saying that "there are consenting adults who want to go into"
prostitution.
Natasha Falle
Natasha Falle (born 1973) is a Canadian professor at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who was forcibly prostituted from the ages of 15 to 27 and now opposes prostitution in Canada. Falle grew up in a middle-class home and, when her ...
, a former prostitute, was angered by this statement, responding that 97% of prostitutes are not engaging in prostitution by choice, and that "the voices of the overwhelming majority of women who want to get out of prostitution are being drowned out by a vocal few." In 2013, Marzel served as the defence lawyer for Maxim Popovitch, a
medical cannabis
Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restriction ...
seller and grower.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marzel, Ron
Living people
People from Toronto
Lawyers in Ontario
Criminal defense lawyers
Cannabis law reform in Canada
Medicinal use of cannabis
Year of birth missing (living people)