cannabisnews.com: Protesters Slam Move To Sell Marijuana Protesters Slam Move To Sell Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on July 10, 2003 at 07:55:54 PT By Paula McCooey, The Ottawa Citizen Source: Ottawa Citizen The message was "too little too late" yesterday as politicians, activists, and the ill converged on Parliament Hill just moments after Health Canada announced it would provide medical marijuana to eligible Canadians.Health Canada made the announcement at the eleventh hour, six months to the day after Ontario Superior Court Justice Sidney Lederman declared that the Health Canada Medical Marijuana Access Regulations (MMAR) was "unconstitutional" and therefore invalid for only providing the "illusion of supply". Judge Lederman gave Health Canada six months to rectify the situation that "forces medically needy individuals to rely on black market marijuana."As the peace tower clock struck noon, Steven Bacon, 48, packed the marijuana pipe he calls "the hammer" in front of the steps of Parliament Hill.Mr. Bacon lights, inhales, smiles and says "strictly medicinal" while exhaling the smoke of the potent weed.Mr. Bacon explains he was the first medical marijuana exemptee -- one of the 582 Canadians registered under the MMAR who are authorized to possess medical marijuana, and in most cases, licensed to cultivate it.The Milton, Ont., resident suffers from a degenerative disc disorder and contracted Hepatitis C while working as a paramedic during the 1980s in Alberta. He says smoking marijuana has made a huge difference in his life because, due to the nature of Hep C, he can't take the medication prescribed by his doctor. "My liver is shot to hell and I can't take the pills," he said, adding he grows his own marijuana. "It took me three years to get to the point where I could finally grow my own."While Health Canada spokeswoman Cindy Cripps-Prawak stressed "the government of Canada is committed to its marijuana for medical purposes initiative that takes a compassionate approach to seriously ill Canadians," yesterday morning, Mr. Bacon stressed the policy is an interim measure.He says he believes Federal Health Minister Anne McLellan dropped the ball after former Health Minister Allan Rock got it rolling. "Anne McLellan is sabatoging this program and we're hurting bad," said Mr. Bacon. "Her announcement today that they're going to dish out some of this mine shaft weed (the federal marijuana is grown in an abandoned mine near Flin Flon, Man.) is more smoke and mirrors to buy a little bit more time while they appeal the decision so they don't ever have to give us any."Many who attended the rally on the Hill yesterday believe while some users may be able to get marijuana from their doctors, they believe the procedure to apply for it will be "monstrous".Philippe Lucas, a member of the group Canadians for Safe Access and director of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society, a non-profit organization that distributes cannabis for therapeutic purposes, helped organize the rally. He says the interim decision to have medical doctors distribute marijuana and leave the compassion clubs out of the loop is counter-productive to patients who want to try the drug, but don't have the means or know-how to do so."What will a 55-year-old woman who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer do when she tells her doctor she'd like to try medical cannabis," he asked. "I'd like to know if that same doctor is going to show her how to roll a joint, pack a bowl, make butter, make cookies out of it. Because right now this is the role the compassion society is fulfilling and I don't see the medical community taking that duty and responsibility on."Russell Barth, 34, who listened to the speeches from his wheelchair, explained the story behind the book he co-authored called Mommy's Funny Medicine, and how he mustered the strength to write it.The book tells a story of a little girl whose mother is coping with pain by using medical marijuana and how her family deals with it, similar to how Mr. Barth deals with his pain and nausea caused by fibromyalgia.The marijuana "takes the edge off," he said. "I'm not going to say it's a cure all -- like I'm smoking a joint and then I'm out playing racquetball. "It's not that at all, I smoke it and I feel a hell of a lot less like killing myself than I did a little while ago. And I feel like working and getting things done, like writing this children's book."Note: 'Too little too late' Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)Author: Paula McCooey, The Ottawa Citizen Published: Thursday, July 10, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Ottawa CitizenContact: letters thecitizen.southam.caWebsite: http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/ Related Articles & Web Sites:Canadians for Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccess.ca/Vancouver Island Compassion Societyhttp://www.thevics.com/Canada To Offer Marijuana To Medical Patientshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16807.shtmlCanada To Sell Medical Marijuana To Ill http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16799.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by afterburner on July 10, 2003 at 08:44:28 PT: A Post-Worthy Summary of the Conflict. Giving a graceless okay to medical marijuana. Today's Paper: Thursday, July 10, 2003 12:00 AM Page A16 Like a recalcitrant teenager ordered to do her homework or lose her TV privileges, Health Minister Anne McLellan has waited until the last possible moment to make medical marijuana available to Canadians, as directed by the courts. She and her department have dragged their feet in a number of ways over the past few years, trying to avoid this decision -- arguing that the medical benefits of marijuana are inconclusive and that the product delivered by a contractor didn't meet quality tests (if only all dealers were so conscientious). Now, they can delay no longer. FULL STORY > http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030710/EPOT10//?query=marijuana [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 10, 2003 at 08:22:27 PT News Article from Snipped Source Ottawa To Ship Pot To Prescribing DoctorsIt's a 'horrifying, mind-boggling' decision, B.C. Medical Association says. By Pamela Fayerman and Mark Kennedy Vancouver Sun; CanWest News service Thursday, July 10, 2003 The federal government will immediately begin to ship medical marijuana to physicians who prescribe pot to their patients -- a move the head of the B.C. Medical Association calls "horrifying and mind-boggling.""It boggles the mind. It sounds like a scheme thought up by a bureaucrat trying to make doctors' lives more difficult," BCMA president Dr. John Turner said Wednesday."I mean, what would a doctor do with 10 totes of marijuana in the office cupboard? You would have to hope nobody breaks in to your office. I think most doctors would be absolutely horrified by this." Not only is the federal government willing to ship directly to doctors but also it will do so at bargain-basement prices. Hundreds of chronically ill patients who currently qualify for "medical marijuana" under Health Canada's program had better rush their order though, because within weeks, the government may revoke its official drug supplier status and resume its policy of keeping its stash -- grown at an old mine site in Flin Flon, Man. -- under lock and key.Snipped:Complete Article: http://canada.com/national/story.asp?id=2C254F90-A73E-4D49-ACA0-8021A91CF5D8 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment