cannabisnews.com: Law Could Be Backward Step, Med Pot Users Warn Law Could Be Backward Step, Med Pot Users Warn Posted by CN Staff on May 29, 2003 at 10:58:25 PT By John Gillis Source: Halifax Herald Medical marijuana users in Nova Scotia say the proposed changes to Canada's drug laws don't make their life any easier and might even be a step backward.John Cook, director of the Cannabis Buyers Club of Canada, which purchases marijuana and redistributes it to medical users, said while the changes make the government look progressive, they are actually a step in the wrong direction. "Actually they are re-criminalizing possession that's already legal up to 30 grams," Mr. Cook said.He was referring to an Ontario judge's January decision to dismiss charges against a 16-year-old on the grounds Canada's marijuana laws were unclear on the possession of 30 grams or less.He believes that makes the activities of his club, serving 55 people in the province, legal.Mr. Cook uses marijuana to combat chronic pain, but his application for a Health Canada permit has yet to be approved.He says the proposed changes now make the possession of 15 grams of pot illegal.A Health Canada spokeswoman said the changes announced Tuesday have no bearing on how much marijuana permit holders use or how they obtain it."It doesn't affect anybody who has an authorization," said Jirina Vik.That's precisely why some of those who hold permits are unhappy with the changes."For Cretien to say that he's modernizing the drug laws is absolutely ludicrous," said Debbie Stultz-Giffin, chair of Maritimers Unite for Medical Marijuana.She said the changes don't address a flawed system that "drives chronically and gravely ill people to break a law" by not providing for a legal supply of the drugs that they are permitted to use.Ms. Stultz-Giffin has progressive multiple sclerosis and has had a Health Canada permit to possess and grow marijuana for her own use since 2000. But the weakness and fatigue brought on by MS prevents her from growing pot herself. Her husband, Cliff, was convicted and fined for growing her marijuana before she obtained a permit.Ms. Stultz-Giffin now relies on another person, not approved by Health Canada, to grow the marijuana that gives her quality of life and dignity."These stepped-up penalties for people the government and law enforcement agencies perceive as being traffickers and distributors of marijuana will make it more difficult for patients to be able to procure their medication," she said.She believes only full legalization will give people who rely on marijuana reliable and reasonably priced supply. And she has little hope that the government will take that step."I really think that in the end the resolution will come through the courts, because the judges of the country seem to be the ones who have the sane voices."Complete Title: Law Could Be Backward Step, Medicinal Pot Users WarnSource: Halifax Herald (CN NS)Author: John GillisPublished: Wednesday, May 28, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Halifax Herald LimitedContact letters herald.ns.caWebsite: http://www.herald.ns.ca/Related Articles & Web Sites:Cannabis Buyers' Clubs of Canadahttp://www.cbc-canada.com/Medical Marijuana Missionhttp://www.themarijuanamission.com/No Laws Ban Possession of Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16321.shtmlCanadian Marijuana Ready for Trials http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16200.shtmlCanada Rethinks Medical Marijuana Lawshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16079.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by Jose Melendez on May 29, 2003 at 13:54:11 PT link to New Scientist Article here's the link for the article in comment#2: Marijuana use in pregnancy "damages kids' learning" http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/marijuana/pregnancy.jspNote: article from New Scientist barely reveals that study used synthetic analogue Marijuana use in pregnancy "damages kids' learning" [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Jose Melendez on May 29, 2003 at 12:24:30 PT file this under: backward step Children born to mothers who use marijuana during pregnancy may suffer a host of lasting mental defects, suggests a new study in rats. Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug among women of reproductive age.The offspring of pregnant rats given a low dose of cannabinoid were found to perform poorly in learning tests throughout their lives, compared to rats that were not exposed.The Italian research team found that long-term learning in the rats was damaged by the cannabinoids irreversibly disrupting chemical and electrical processes in the brain during gestation. The exposed rats were also more hyperactive as infants, although this effect wore off as the rats reached adulthood.Vincenzo Cuomo, at the La Sapienza University in Rome, and colleagues suggest that similar brain effects could explain learning problems in children born to mothers who use the soft drug during pregnancy."This is absolutely relevant," says Peter Fried, a psychologist at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, who has done similar work in humans. "What they have found is very consistent with what we have found in humans."Confounding factorsThe possible effects of maternal marijuana use on the unborn child and the child's later behaviour are controversial, say Cuomo and colleagues. They argue that rat studies can be very useful in assessing human effects, because studies of people can be hampered by complex confounding factors. These could include cigarette smoking, wealth or urban living.In the study, pregnant rats were injected with a low dose of an artificial cannabinoid. Offspring exposed to the drug during gestation showed hyperactivity during infancy and adolescence, as measured by how many times they broke infrared beams crisscrossing their cages.This stopped when they reached adulthood, but was replaced by problems with memory retention. The researchers showed reduced levels of a messenger chemical called glutamate in the hippocampus, part of the brain associated with learning and visual ability. They also found disruption of electrical processes associated with learning in this region.(snipped)more abuses of tax dollars at: http://www.drugabuse.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVol14N1/MERITResearch.html SAWS: Synthetic Analog Withdrawal Syndrome Shown to Increase Anti-Drug Funding [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by WolfgangWylde on May 29, 2003 at 11:22:32 PT The new law ... ...doesn't provide for a legal supply of medical cannabis. It should be tossed out just like the old one. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment