cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Refusal Threatens Life Medical Marijuana Refusal Threatens Life Posted by CN Staff on March 25, 2003 at 08:11:08 PT By Denise Surette Source: Halifax Herald Michael Patriquen says he just wants to relieve his pain. But in his appeal to the Federal Court for medical marijuana treatment in prison, he has thrust himself into the spotlight as a medical marijuana martyr. Now, as Mr. Patriquen sits in prison, he says he has lost that quality of life since he began his sentence on Sept. 10, 2002. He was convicted for conspiring to possess and traffic in marijuana. He said in a recent interview from the Westmorland minimum security prison in New Brunswick that he feels not only is his health in jeopardy, but so is his life. "The more pain I'm in, the less I eat and sleep. It is a chore to do the simplest of tasks." Mr. Patriquen, who is five-foot-eleven and weights 162 pounds, says he has chronic neck pain and has lost 29 pounds since the day he began his sentence. "I can only digest water, no juice or milk," he said. He lives off crackers and peanut butter and jam sandwiches because he cannot digest anything else. Mr. Patriquen, a founder of the Marijuana Party of Nova Scotia, said he had not been offered anything for his pain from Correctional Services Canada physician, until the announcement of his appeal to the Federal Court to allow him to use medical marijuana in prison. He has been offered opiates but he doesn't want them because of the side effects and the risk of physical addiction. He has been offered an anti-convulsant drug called Tegretol, and Zophran, an anti-nauseant. They are known to cause headaches and nausea, which he said, is what he is trying alleviate in the first place. "It just seems silly to give me these exotic cocktails. I just want to eat my cookie and get rid of my headache." Denis D'Amour, manager of communications for Correctional Services of Canada, said Thursday that they are offering Mr. Patriquen, and all other offenders in need, the best medical treatment available. He said they are not legally allowed to offer any offender medical marijuana. "There is no legal source for marijuana. CSC will not obtain drugs illegally," said Mr. D'Amour. He said he could not comment on the impending appeal due to legal reasons. Mr. Patriquen was one of the few Canadians with the authorization from Health Canada to produce and use marijuana for medical purposes when he started his treatment in July 2001. Today there are 921 Canadians with authorization to possess and produce medical marijuana, 42 of them are in Nova Scotia. His medical problems began with a car accident in October 1999. He was driving his 8-year-old daughter to school when they were rear-ended by a delivery van. He was diagnosed with damage to his cervical spine. His neck has been in a state of constant spasm ever since. He was prescribed Oxycontin, a narcotic which he says stopped him from functioning normally. It made him feel listless and lethargic. He asked his doctor about trying marijuana as a treatment instead of using narcotics. When he began his new treatment he ingested the marijuana instead of smoking it. His doctors found the only risk to using medical marijuana was the damage to lung tissue caused by smoking. He ingested five grams of marijuana a day by sauteing it in butter and then adding the butter to baked goods. In December 2001 he was free of the Oxycontin and felt good enough to go back to work. By the summer of 2002, he felt better than he had since the accident occurred. He was still in pain, but he was maintaining a endurable level of pain management. Now, he said, those days are gone. He is anxiously waiting for the appeal to begin. Note: Constant pain has led to eating, sleeping problems - Patriquen.Complete Title: Medical Marijuana Refusal Threatens Life, Inmate Says Source: Halifax Herald (CN NS)Author: Denise SurettePublished: Tuesday, March 25, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Halifax Herald LimitedContact: letters herald.ns.caWebsite: http://www.herald.ns.ca/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmMarijuana in Jail? Never! http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15774.shtmlPot Appeal Dropped in N.S. Courts http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15706.shtmlFederal Inmate Fights To Smoke Medicinal Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15681.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #24 posted by afterburner on March 30, 2003 at 18:50:05 PT: Untrue, Flin Flon Is a Legal Government Source. "There is no legal source for marijuana. CSC will not obtain drugs illegally," said Mr. D'Amour. Untrue, the federal government sanctioned a grow operation in which the pot is grown under high security in a hydroponic lab deep within an old copper mine in Flin Flon, about 650 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. This medical cannabis could be given to Michael Patriquen, a federal medical marijuana exemptee! N.S. Man Argues To Receive Marijuana in Jail http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/14/thread14007.shtmlego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question. Gov't Pot Ready [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by FoM on March 26, 2003 at 07:58:05 PT Thank You Richard I'm really sorry if people bother you about CNews. I decided a while back that I was going to need to make a decision if I wanted to be liked or respected. As hard as it was I picked respected. I must deal with CNews everyday and infighting really hurts me and everyone. There are only a few people that have been banned from this site and I don't understand why it would matter to them. The Internet is big and people can do what they want most places so lets have this one place that we can stand together. That's all the harder with war because war is hell and opinions are strong. For anyone that reads this please don't bother Richard with issues about CNews. He is working hard to help bring reform and it is important to let him do his work.You Rock Too, Richard!PS: As far as I can tell CNews stats show me we are growing even in the midst of war! That says a lot to me! [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by Richard Lake on March 26, 2003 at 07:43:50 PT: Thank YOU FoM! Your Letter to MAP is athttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n440/a14.htmlWe at DrugSense really enjoy working with you. I say "with" because I still get some contacts, even a call the other day, from some who do not like the guidelines and standards you expect.This few folks don't seem to understand that it does no good to expect me to try to change your mind about doing what you think is right and appropriate to run you site, and expecting folks to treat it like they were visiting you in your kitchen.They seem to think that because of your guidelines CNEWS must be less popular. What a laugh! Both your own server stats and those of independent measures like Alexa prove how wrong they are.Over 30 thousand (!!!) individuals visited CNEWS last month!One heck of a lot of folks who love your selection of cannabis related news stories!There is no doubt in my mind that if I had put a similar effort into requesting letters from the reform community to mark a CNEWS milestone, the results would be very similar to the ones for MAP's milestone.You Rock, FoM! Link to all the Letters to MAP [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by afterburner on March 25, 2003 at 19:00:27 PT: John Tyler My own faith in the mass media ended in 1967 as well when d-lysergic acid diethylamide was declared illegal by the US government, and the media started to lie ceaselessly about the effects on human activity and consciousness.And yes, I remember Assembler.ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question. [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by FoM on March 25, 2003 at 18:56:37 PT afterburner Thank you for the letters. I wrote a little note to celebrate Mapinc's 100,000 article posted and sent it in to Mapinc. and it's posted somewhere. I can't remember exactly when I started talking to Richard Lake but we've had many good phone conversations. One time he called me and I said Oh No what's wrong now and then said I mean Oh Hi Richard! LOL! They know how strong willed I am and respect me for who I am. That means so much to me. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by afterburner on March 25, 2003 at 18:38:09 PT: A Couple of Tributes to Richard Lake, Richard Cowan, Mark Greer, Matt Elrod, and Peter McWilliams:US OH: Letter from Rob Ryan to MAP - 24 Mar 2003 Letters to MAP -http://www.mapinc.org/newscc/v03/n445/a06.html?397US FL: Letter from the Drug Policy Forum of Florida to MAP - 24 Mar 2003 - Letters to MAP http://www.mapinc.org/newscc/v03/n445/a07.html?397Rock on, guys! [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by John Tyler on March 25, 2003 at 18:37:03 PT IT group That is so weird. I have been in IT for over 20 years. Back then it was called Data Processing. Anybody remember Assembler? I found out about the big lie in '67. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by FoM on March 25, 2003 at 16:03:19 PT Sam Adams Thank you! I try. We all need to learn and apply what we learn. Each one in his or her own way. That's what makes the difference. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by Virgil on March 25, 2003 at 15:29:36 PT Welcome to the Choir Phil debowl About anyone can sing here if they chose. Sing loud. Sing often. Sing out of key. Just sing.Since you have read Cnews for some time, you probably have seen the "Recent Comment" button next to the :Register" button after the article and before the Comment Section. If you want to keep up with comments to articles it is one feature to appreciate and use.I guess you also found out you do not have to post an email address to comment. It is only for your convenience if you want people to be able to contact you. Welcome to the Choir. Now join in- "Free Cannabis For Everyone" [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by phil_debowl on March 25, 2003 at 15:07:44 PT Wow, it got posted Just wanted to say, after posting many comments in the past on the major news media (regulated) forums, that WOOHOO, IT ACTUALLY POSTED!There's been many times i've tried to educate people in other forums that were pretty much anti-pot, and my posts never showed up. Anyone else notice that?phil [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by Sam Adams on March 25, 2003 at 14:25:06 PT IT - Information Technology FOM you are too in IT - I would say running and maintaining this website is IT! no doubt about it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by Truth on March 25, 2003 at 13:48:38 PT Pot Pot doesn't kill, prohibition does. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by pokesmotter on March 25, 2003 at 13:41:13 PT: interesting just thought i would post that i am a pot user and going into the field of teaching--math to be specific. btw- it is more diffucult for me to do math while high though...i do too much work in my head. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by delariand on March 25, 2003 at 13:31:45 PT IT = intoxicated techs I'm a computer programmer at a pretty large software company, and I can tell you everyone I've met either smokes pot or once did. One time my entire development team of about 20 people was having lunch in the cafeteria, and a medical pot story came on the news. Naturally that got us talking, everyone on the team felt cannabis was perfectly harmless and the whole war on it's users was ridiculous. Now, I wonder how they came to the conclusion that pot was okay, hmm? ;) [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on March 25, 2003 at 13:30:29 PT I'm not IT! Just kidding but what does it mean? LOL! Duh! [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by druid on March 25, 2003 at 13:20:24 PT hip hip hooray for IT I like to think of IT as standing for Intellectual Tokers. The more technical minded stoners the better I think. :) [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by TecHnoCult on March 25, 2003 at 13:08:37 PT IT Industry Interesting, I am also in the IT industry. I read an article once that said the IT industry is the leading industry for cannabis use. THC [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Virgil on March 25, 2003 at 12:48:20 PT Nol Van Schaik on present Holland situation It is now Wednesday on the HempCity forum clock, so this copy of Nol's posting is not prediction or falsity. From http://www.hempcity.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=72&highlight=Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2003 12:50 am Post subject: Raj, -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As I already explained, the CDA thinks they can close about 400 coffeeshops, thus admitting they can NOT close the other 400, that is a given fact, Holland will never be without coffeeshops. The coffeeshops that might be in the dangerzone, close to schools and other places where many youngsters gather, will have to be given the right and the time to move to a new location, like in Haarlem, which is the model for this policy. Donner can not deny them that right, as we have that in Haarlem, it has been executed without losses and with cooperation of the local authorities, since 1997. I pointed my collegues to that right, I am sure they will have it, if we still have any democracy left. Coffeeshops owners are special people, in general, they had to enforce their rights to sell hash and marihuana, we will not give in to pressure now, we all know we are the basis of the success of the Dutch Tolerance Policy, not the Law or Politicians, we make the separation between cannabis and hard drugs clear, by keeping our shops and the culture clean. We have just celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Dutch Coffeeshop, 30 years of open sales of cannabis, it will not end here, we are going for more. I can do no more than I did, in displaying the truth, showing Donner and the UN are wrong, nobody can tell me we should close our coffeeshops, because the UN tells us to, 38 countries can not criticise Holland, they use more cannabis than we, so this criticism is as false as the intentions of George Bush. _________________ [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on March 25, 2003 at 12:14:58 PT News Article from Snipped Source Raid on Coquitlam Grow-op Met with Cheers, Applause Greg Middleton, with files from Barbara McLintock Source: The Province Tuesday, March 25, 2003 Neighbours cheered last week as police raided a marijuana grow-op in an upscale Coquitlam suburb."We were out on the street. We cheered and we clapped when the police came back out of the house," said Sandy Barton, 45, who lives across the street from 2520 Platinum Lane.She said the neighbours knew for months that the house was being used for hydroponic marijuana cultivation."We could smell it," she said. "We thought at first we had skunks living in the back yard." Barton said the nearly new 4,000-square-foot, $400,000 house on a quiet cul-de-sac was sold in October.No one got to know the people who moved in, which was unusual in the tightly knit community of young families.Copyright: 2003 The ProvinceSnipped:Complete Article: http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=e3e23142-9aed-4ec5-800c-7aee626c95c1 [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 25, 2003 at 11:00:33 PT Phil Welcome to CNews. I can't answer your question but maybe someone else can. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by druid on March 25, 2003 at 10:26:02 PT welcome Phil Hey man welcome to CNews. It's a great place to hang out. Yet Another IT guy comes out of the smokers closet. It's interesting. A poll done not too long ago about professions and pot smokers. Teachers had the highest ratio of those who love the herb with the IT industry coming in a close second. I am in IT also and so are quite a few who hang out around here. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by phil_debowl on March 25, 2003 at 10:01:12 PT: Introduction This is way off topic but i just wanted to introduce myself to the group here. I've been reading cannabisnews for a little over a year now and really enjoy reading all your comments. I finally signed up here about a week ago. I'm typically a quiet, passive, person. I can't be quiet anymore. I am sick of all the misleading, i'm sick of seeing bullshit anti pot commercials in every commercial break. I work for a mobile medical office in humboldt county and we do things like needle exchanges and give medical free medical services to the homeless people of the area. I see people struggling to get off heroin and injected meth and there is no help at all for the ones that want to quit. It makes me sick to see all this propaganda against herb, yet no help for people with real drug problems. I don't remember the last time I saw a anti-heroin commercial, or even an anti-meth commercial, when meth has exploded as a major threat the past few years. I've done a lot of drugs in my life and i think that came from discovering the 1st time i smoked her i didn't grow tits, and started researching and discovered everything about weed was basically lies. I guess my adolescent mind said, this is probably the case for everything else. It makes me sick, and i need to start being more active in bringing change. I'm an IT person, so if anyone needs any help setting up anything technical let me know. Also, I noticed that humboldt doesn't even have a norml chapter. If anyone from this group is in the area, please let me know and maybe we can work together to set something up.Peace, phil [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on March 25, 2003 at 09:25:23 PT News Brief from NBC 4 TV Heads Of Pot Club Plead GuiltyMen Acknowledge Salaries Derived From Marijuana SalesPOSTED: 7:30 p.m. PST March 24, 2003LOS ANGELES -- Two heads of a West Hollywood-based club that sold marijuana to people with AIDS and other diseases agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge, court papers showed Monday. Federal agents raided the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center in October 2001. Operators said marijuana plants, records and computers were seized in the raid. It occurred because the federal government does not recognize California's voter-approved medical marijuana initiative. Scott Imler, the center's president at the time of the raid, and Jeffrey Farrington, its president, signed deals Friday in which they agreed to plead guilty to one count of maintaining a drug establishment, court records show. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000, though a judge would likely impose less than that under federal sentencing guidelines. The two admit in their plea agreements that the buyers' club had about 559 pot plants on its premises on the day it was raided. Both men also acknowledge they were paid a salary derived from the proceeds of marijuana sales. Neither man's attorneys could be reached for immediate comment on the deal. Copyright 2003 by NBC4 TV [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by The GCW on March 25, 2003 at 08:26:55 PT This is sad. Michael Patriquen has access to class A narcotics, and just wants a simple plant.There is a disconnect, that must be healed.We have been given a wholly spiritual gift that has been sitting unused and it is time that We use it.The Holy Spirit of Truth is progressive and is for now.Truth is, Michael Patriquen isn't the only one being screwed. TRUTH is being screwed.And TRUTH, don't like being screwed. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment