cannabisnews.com: Weeding Out Feds’ Position on Medical Pot 





Weeding Out Feds’ Position on Medical Pot 
Posted by CN Staff on August 25, 2002 at 19:24:58 PT
By Don Descoteau
Source: Victoria News
About 250-kgs of marijuana has been harvested for medicinal use by Health Canada’s lone legal supplier, but to date, none of that federal pot crop has reached the people it was intended for. Now, federal Health Minister Anne McLellan is saying she feels “uncomfortable” with the idea of distributing marijuana before the pot can be clinically tested, in the same manner as other prescription drug, before it reaches patients. Such a process has been known to take between five and 10 years. 
Phillipe Lucas of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society, a downtown Victoria-based supplier of medical marijuana, says having to wait for results of such testing could force sick people — many of whom currently rely on pot secured from compassion clubs to ease their pain and suffering — to resort to more illicit sources. “I think not enough people are showing concern for the people who could benefit and need it right now,” says Lucas. While the health minister claimed her department’s policy has not changed, her predecessor and current federal Industry Minister Allan Rock added fuel to the internal political fire Tuesday when he defended his decision in 2000 to distribute marijuana while trials were being undertaken. “It seems like the federal government is sending a lot of mixed messages,” Lucas says. What makes the minister’s comments even more confusing, says Lucas, is the fact various courts around the country have been reluctant to clamp down on people such as himself, who supply terminally ill patients or chronic pain sufferers with pot, until the federal government determines its final policy on the matter. In giving Lucas an absolute discharge on pot-related charges earlier this year, B.C. judge Robert Higinbotham said while Lucas did indeed break the law, “his actions were intended to ameliorate the suffering of others”. Alex Swann, special assistant to McLellan in Ottawa, contends there has been no change to the ministry’s plans for medicinal pot. “The minister’s comments signaled in no way a change to our program,” he says. “We’re moving down a road map that has always included clinical trials.” The department’s goal, says Swann, is to reach a point where the crop being grown in a Flin Flon, Man. mine shaft by Prairie Plant Systems is standardized enough to do testing. He cannot give any indication when that testing might begin or when the pot might find its way into the hands of any of the more than 800 patients with Health Canada exemptions for marijuana. Anyone with an exemption will, however, be able to apply to be involved in the trials, he adds. Ted Smith, founder of the Cannabis Buyers Clubs of Canada and consultant to Victoria’s Hempology 101 Society, calls the government’s testing process “a joke”. In the City of Victoria, where city councillors endorsed in principle making marijuana available for medicinal purposes, a meeting with Health Canada officials was expected to set straight the policy regarding its use. Acting Victoria Mayor Coun. Helen Hughes says they have been told the meeting would take place sometime in September, but no date has been set. Hughes says despite McLellan’s statements, city council will likely continue to press Health Canada to send someone to Victoria to explain its position on medical marijuana. Source: Victoria News (CN BC)Author: Don DescoteauPublished: August 23, 2002Copyright: 2002 Victoria NewsWebsite: http://www.vicnews.com/Contact: vicnews vinewsgroup.comRelated Articles & Web Sites:VICS http://www.thevics.com/Hempology 101 http://www.hempology101.com/Cannabis Buyers' Clubs of Canada http://www.cbc-canada.com/Flin Flon Mine Questions Pot-Growing Futurehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13844.shtmlSquabbles Erupt Over Policyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13824.shtmlHow To Stall On Medicinal Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13823.shtml 
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