cannabisnews.com: Rock Maintains Smoke Screen on Marijuana Use!





Rock Maintains Smoke Screen on Marijuana Use!
Posted by FoM on May 27, 1999 at 20:31:03 PT
Source: Vancouver Sun
OTTAWA Health Minister Allan Rock drew from a potent stash of legal expertise Thursday to protect the smokescreen on his past. Rock, who says he wants a homegrown stock of marijuana for use in his department’s clinical trials, was asked whether he’s ever smoked pot. 
"As former attorney general of Canada, I am keenly aware of the right against self-incrimination in this country," he replied with a broad smile. "I fully intend to invoke that right. "But one thing I can be very clear about: I never smoked marijuana for medicinal purposes." There has been considerable speculation about Rock’s personal views on marijuana, given his acquaintance with and admiration for the late rock star John Lennon. Lennon’s use of recreational drugs was legendary, although he firmly renounced them in the final years of his life. It has become almost standard procedure to ask prominent politicians whether they have smoked pot. The most famous response, from U.S. President Bill Clinton, is that he tried it but didn’t inhale. Canadian Industry Minister John Manley’s less-known response is that he never exhaled. Earlier Thursday, Rock said he has asked his officials to look into the possibility of ensuring a "Canadian stock" of pot to use in trials on people with severe illnesses. Asked later if he wants marijuana to be cultivated in Canada, he answered: "I think we’re up to it, don’t you?" British Columbia’s homegrown, long revered in Canada, is becoming the drug of choice along the U.S. west coast. The government has so far received 26 requests from people who wish to use marijuana for medical purposes and Rock said he’ll decide on those requests within a few weeks. Appearing before the Commons health committee, Rock seemed perplexed by a question from Bloc MP Bernard Bigras about whether Ottawa was planning to obtain its supply from Mississippi. A recent report in the French-language press said Health Department officials visited the University of Mississippi to see a marijuana cultivation program there. Health Department officials denied the story. "Maybe the deputy minister has been to Mississippi; he has not discussed it with me," joked Rock, nudging David Dodge. Victims of AIDS and cancer have been lobbying for years for the right to use marijuana as a pain killer and appetite stimulant. Rock announced in March he would ask his department to conduct clinical trials to determine the drug’s effectiveness for those purposes. 
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