cannabisnews.com: Canada's Parliament Resumes Historic MM Debate!





Canada's Parliament Resumes Historic MM Debate!
Posted by FoM on April 23, 1999 at 07:54:55 PT
Source: NORML
Ottawa, Ontario Canada's House of Commons resumed debate last week on a motion to make marijuana available for medical purposes. The House will vote on the motion, M-381, in June. The hearing marked only the second time the House of Commons has debated legalizing medical marijuana.
   "The government must stop holding sick people hostage," said MP Pauline Picard (Bloc Quebecois-Drummond), whose party is one of the chief backers of the measure. "This is a health debate, a justice debate, based on the values of fairness, mutual aid and compassion that we all share as a society."   Picard testified that the motion must do no less than put Parliament on record as supporting legalizing medical marijuana, and argued against efforts to delay the drug's legal access.   Member of Parliament Libby Davies (New Democrats Party-East Vancouver) agreed. "We must make it very clear that we do not want to wait another two or three years for trials to be conducted," she testified, criticizing allegations by Health Minister Allan Rock that his office is developing guidelines for medical marijuana research. "We do not want to wait for another study or another plan. We want help and relief to be provided now."   Rock announced earlier this year that he has asked federal officials to draw up a plan to provide for the distribution and use of marijuana in clinical trials. Several MPs questioned Rock's sincerity, noting that he made similar statements over a year ago, but took no action.   Motion 381, introduced by MP Bernard Bigras (Bloc Quebecois-Rosemont), recommends the government to "undertake all necessary steps concerning the possible legal use of marijuana for health and medical purposes." An aide to Bigras estimated that 100 MPs support the measure, about 50 short of a majority in the 301-member House.   Debate on M-381 will continue for a third day before MPs vote on the motion.   For more information, please contact either R. Keith Stroup or Paul Armentano of NORML   (202) 483-5500. Transcripts of the debate are available online at: www.parl.gc.ca/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/cnews/36/pb_chb_hou_deb.pl?e. 
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