cannabisnews.com: Patients Seek Relief On Price of Medical Pot





Patients Seek Relief On Price of Medical Pot
Posted by CN Staff on July 10, 2003 at 07:59:55 PT
By Brian Laghi
Source: Globe and Mail 
Ottawa -- Last September, Russell Barth sent a friend out with $300 to buy him a bag of marijuana that he hoped would help alleviate the pain he suffers from fibromyalgia. A few hours later, his buddy called back to tell him the deal wasn't going to happen, and that the money had been stolen.Mr. Barth, who has the right to smoke pot to alleviate symptoms of his disease, thought he would have been pleased yesterday when the federal government established a system so medical users wouldn't have to buy cannabis from unreliable connections.
But the 34-year-old single Ottawa man was disappointed that the cannabis he needs would cost him about $20 a day. He can't afford it and will probably continue to rely on morphine, codeine and other standard drugs to deal with his pain."This is not going to help me," Mr. Barth said. "I'm looking at $20 to $25 a day and I don't have that."Some people who need the drug saw the federal government's plan to begin supplying authorized patients with marijuana and seeds as a positive first step. But many were disappointed with the cost and the fact that the plan is still an interim one that could be cancelled should Ottawa win a court case that allows it to end the program.The price of the drug will be $5 a gram and the government has not established how patients will pay.Philippe Lucas, a Victoria man who has the legal right to consume the drug, said he may try the federal supply, but urged the government to reduce the price because it will put medicinal marijuana out of the reach of many.Mr. Lucas contracted hepatitis C in the tainted-blood scandal of the 1980s. He said the pot he grows for personal use prevents nausea attributed to his condition. He was not confident that Ottawa would continue with the plan."We can hardly take it on good faith knowing that they're appealing this decision," he said. "This whole program could be overturned."Marco Renda said most people who have the right to use the drug probably won't use the federal supply."If you access their program and they shut it down, then what happens?" asked Mr. Renda, who also has hepatitis C and was part of the January court case that forced the federal government to make the supply available.A federal official said yesterday that the government has no intention of dropping the price. The official said the price was fair, and that Canadians are already obliged to pay for drugs that are federally authorized. Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author:  Brian LaghiPublished: Thursday, July 10, 2003 - Page A8Copyright: 2003 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Canadians for Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccess.ca/Protesters Slam Move To Sell Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16812.shtmlCanada To Supply Marijuana To Seriously Ill http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16809.shtmlCanada To Offer Marijuana To Medical Patientshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16807.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by SoberStoner on July 11, 2003 at 19:26:11 PT
An ounce a month limit..4 grams a day
at least if he only needs 4 grams that day..fibromyalgia is not a pleasant experience..your body constantly hurts..there is NO cure, no relief. How do i know this? I live with a person who has fibro. I've seen the pain they experience. 4 grams may be enough for a good day..every day...at health canadas self imposed limits, russell will experience pain relief for ONE WEEK A MONTH!!This is not an acceptable solution as it still requires people to support black market cannabis. Legalization is the only answer.SS
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Comment #2 posted by Kegan on July 10, 2003 at 08:43:03 PT
Misquoted
My name is Russell Barth, and my comments about the price of pot and pills was slightly out of context. The government will provide the morphine and codeine through a provincial drug plan for $2 a script, built I never use morphine or codeine. I use ONLY cannabis because my body CANNOT tolerate those pills any longer. Such is the nature of the Children's Book that I co-authored, called Mommy's Funny Medicine 
http://www.salvagingelectrons.com/mfm/
The world's First Children's Book on Medical Marijuana.But thank you nonetheless for your fine article.Sincerely,Russell Barth
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Comment #1 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on July 10, 2003 at 08:15:08 PT
Math
Someone yesterday did the excellent calculation of the number of pounds divided by the number of patients divided by the amount given out by Compassionate IND each month, and they estimated that Health Canada's supply would last two months. I've been running that over in my mind and I was wondering if the increased potency of the Health Canada strain vs. the extreme schwaggitude of the NIDA strain might affect the equation any? I know it'd be hard to calculate, since the calculations as to relative THC content don't use a standard way of measuring. Still, one would hope Health Canada's cannabis would require less to provide the desired effect.
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