cannabisnews.com: How To Stall On Medicinal Marijuana





How To Stall On Medicinal Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on August 21, 2002 at 07:11:53 PT
Editorial
Source: Globe and Mail 
Federal Health Minister Anne McLellan must be thankful she is not a judge on the Supreme Court of Canada. As a judge, she would have to make a decision. But as a cabinet minister faced with severely ill Canadians awaiting a federal supply of medicinal marijuana, she looks desperately to the wisdom of -- who else -- the judges. This is rescue work, plain and simple, for a government grown too cowardly to make hard choices.
It is not the first time; Ottawa recently scuttled to the courts hoping for an escape hatch on gay marriage. But it is all the more galling given Ms. McLellan's role in creating the Catch-22 in which people with AIDS, cancer patients and others find themselves.As a result of a ruling two years ago by the Ontario Court of Appeal, it is legal for terminally ill people to use marijuana for pain relief. Yet the Criminal Code makes it illegal for them to buy the drug.Once, the government understood that its leadership was required to extricate the very sick from this bind. It was none other than Anne McLellan, in her earlier job as justice minister, who said she would not appeal the Ontario court's ruling. Instead, she created an exemption for the ill people in the criminal law. Then the Health Department, under Allan Rock, spent $5.7-million to grow marijuana in a Flin Flon mine shaft, run clinical studies and supply sick people with the drug.The marijuana was to have been available by last January. More than 250 kilograms of cannabis have been harvested, but none has been made available to the 800-plus people who have obtained the necessary medical certificates. The government has not clearly explained why.Now it emerges -- thanks to a doctor who questioned Ms. McLellan at a public meeting of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) in Saint John -- that Ottawa has cold feet. It will not, said the minister, distribute marijuana until clinical trials have been completed. After all this time, those trials have not even begun.Ms. McLellan says she fears the government will undermine its antismoking campaign by supplying marijuana. This seems improbable. It is a drug strictly limited under controlled conditions to very ill people.For its part, the CMA says the benefits of using marijuana have not clearly been shown to outweigh the risks. For instance, the smoke weakens the immune system, making it more difficult to fight off disease and infections. The CMA and its insurer say that because the drug has not been tested, doctors could be open to lawsuits if they prescribed marijuana.The federal government should recall that the main reason to supply marijuana is compassion for the sick. This can be achieved without bringing lawsuits down on doctors' heads. Regulations could be rewritten to ensure that only those with the most severe illnesses qualify, removing the fuzzy area that now includes those with, say, chronic back pain. Doctors who give an honest assessment to their patients of the known risks and benefits, and who fill out forms describing a patient's illness and medication use, should be able to help patients qualify without fear of a lawsuit.Ms. McLellan prefers to throw up her hands and turn to the judges. Yet the only case before the Supreme Court turns on whether recreational use of the drug can legally be banned. There is a medicinal-marijuana case in the lower courts, but it is a long way from being heard by the country's senior judges.The Ontario Court of Appeal has already decided the matter. Ms. McLellan accepted that decision. She should move forward quickly, even while the clinical trials are proceeding, to ensure that those in desperate need of this form of pain relief are able to receive it. Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Published: Wednesday, August 21, 2002 – Print Edition, Page A12Copyright: 2002 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.ca/Related Articles & Web Sites:Health Canadahttp://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/Canadian Medical Associationhttp://www.cma.ca/McLellan Denies Plan To Shelve Medicinal Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13819.shtmlOttawa Shelves Medicinal Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13807.shtmlMcLellan Admits Med Pot Makes Her Uncomfortablehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13804.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on August 21, 2002 at 09:22:42 PT
Canadian media!
bless them! When was the last time any American paper called the government cowards? That's the kind of realistic assessment we could use on lots of issues. This part really pisses me off, though:"Regulations could be rewritten to ensure that only those with the most severe illnesses qualify, removing the fuzzy area that now includes those with, say, chronic back pain."Yes, it's much better to force people with ONLY constant, severe pain to take toxic NSAIDs and addictive pain-killers than to allow them to use a gentle, FREE herb that won't destroy their GI tracts, livers, and kidneys.It may seem insignificant, but this attitude is at the core of the medical marijuana issue. The attitude is much worse in the U.S. It's indicative of the general insensitivity people have to anyone but themselves. Oh, you're in constant pain - so what? I'M fine, so why should I care about it? If you're not dying, suck it up pal. I've got a new SUV, and my chemical-soaked, heavily watered lawn looks immaculate!
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on August 21, 2002 at 07:49:01 PT:
It Does Not Get a Whole Lot Better Than This
Bravo to the editorial staff of this paper to tell it as it is. Now, if people will only listen--. Make the case!
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