cannabisnews.com: Ottawa To Sell Marijuana To Patients Ottawa To Sell Marijuana To Patients Posted by CN Staff on July 10, 2003 at 13:11:53 PT By Our Staff and The Canadian Press Source: Halifax Herald Medical marijuana activists in Nova Scotia are skeptical of Ottawa's interim plan to sell pot to patients with permission to smoke it to alleviate pain and other symptoms. "It's fluff, it's an illusion," Debbie Stultz-Giffin said Wednesday, clutching a joint and a lighter in the same hand that leans on her cane - the three tools that help her lead a semblance of a normal life in her battle with multiple sclerosis. Wednesday's announcement by Ottawa came on the day an Ontario judge had set as the deadline for the federal government to come up with regulations for distributing medical marijuana. The judge ruled Ottawa couldn't logically give sick people permission to use pot without also providing a legal source of supply. Health Canada is appealing the ruling, and Health Minister Anne McLellan hinted that the sales program could end quickly if her department wins the appeal. "It was never the intention for us to provide product," she said in Edmonton. "What we wanted to do was, in fact, determine whether there is medicinal benefit in relation to the use of marijuana." Ms. Stultz-Giffin's group, Maritimers Unite for Medical Marijuana, and other advocates who rallied Wednesday in Halifax's Grand Parade scoffed at the plan. "They're trying to make themselves look good so they can go back into court and say, 'We've done something,' " said Ms. Stultz-Giffin, a 45-year-old mother of four who has been smoking pot since 2000 to treat the muscle spasms, fatigue and lack of appetite that go with MS. "They're still leaving chronically ill and dying Canadians out on a limb." Ms. McLellan said the government will make its supply of marijuana available to licensed users for $5 a gram or $20 for a bag of 30 seeds. The marijuana will come from a facility in Manitoba, which is growing it for research into its medicinal value. About 500 people now qualify to use pot under the program. But they have been required to grow their own, designate someone to grow it for them or get it on the black market. That was the problem that led the Ontario Court of Justice to declare the law unconstitutional. And the plan has other flaws, activists say. Ms. Stultz-Giffin had a permit to grow the drug, but not the ability, as her disease leaves her weak. "I just can't devote half of my days to becoming a horticulturist in order to grow my medication," she said. The Bridgetown woman couldn't turn the responsibility over to her husband, who already has a conviction for growing pot plants for her. Her current sources, whom she's understandably reluctant to identify, could face prosecution for supplying her, she said. And after years of waiting for legal marijuana, patients shouldn't have to pay for it, said Ms. Stultz-Giffin and Jane Parker, a fellow MS sufferer and Bridgetown-area resident. When you're living on a disability pension and need five grams a day to keep the spasms away, the costs add up, Ms. Parker said. "Right now, I'm taking handouts, because we're broke. . . . It should be in my hand - and not at $5 a gram." The medical marijuana group called on Ms. McLellan to resign Wednesday for her lack of compassion toward the chronically ill. What the health minister doesn't seem to understand is that marijuana is the only real option for many Canadians, Ms. Stultz-Giffin said. The mix of prescription drugs she used to take made her feel worse than the disease, she said. "In my situation, they were no more than legal poison," she said. "Marijuana gives me quality of life, it gives me dignity, it gets me up in the morning. . . . For a disabled person with MS, it allows me to lead a relatively normal life." Note: Sick Nova Scotians who use pot say move doesn't go far enough.Source: Halifax Herald (CN NS)Published: Thursday, July 10, 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.htmSpecial Delivery: Feds To Begin Mailing Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16823.shtmlAccess To Pot Eases Pain and Worrieshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16821.shtmlPatients Seek Relief On Price of Medical Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16813.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by afterburner on July 11, 2003 at 06:07:02 PT: Your Morning Smile CN BC: Editorial: Why Is Ottawa So Afraid Of Pot? 10 Jul 2003 Victoria Times-Colonist http://www.mapinc.org/newscc/v03/n1038/a01.html?397 [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by global_warming on July 10, 2003 at 16:10:42 PT: Its A Weed Its A Weed, you money grubbing bastards, its a weed that you will "NEVER" control,..Your insane passion to control this "WEED" is positivly obscene,.. You cannot control the mystery of your existance, nor will you control every living plant,..Your greed will consume you and cast you into everlasting "HELL",..Be assured, that "LIFE" will find new ways to sustain the miracle of life, Life will find new ways to "Get High"gw [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by mayan on July 10, 2003 at 14:45:50 PT Don't Be Fooled Again "They're trying to make themselves look good so they can go back into court and say, 'We've done something,' " said Ms. Stultz-Giffin, a 45-year-old mother of four who has been smoking pot since 2000 to treat the muscle spasms, fatigue and lack of appetite that go with MS. "They're still leaving chronically ill and dying Canadians out on a limb."She's right. This latest move by Health Canada is nothing but fluff intended to appease the court so they don't feel compelled to strike down the cannabis laws altogether. The courts have already been fooled twice. They will look very silly if they fall for this cripe again.The way out is the way in...9/11 inquiry alleges witness intimidation: http://www.guardian.co.uk/september11/story/0,11209,994933,00.html9/11 Panel Rips Lack of Cooperation: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-2885556,00.htmlU.S. report on 9/11 to be 'explosive': http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/6269252.htmBurying the Truth of 9/11: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_10-7-2003_pg3_79/11 Prior Knowledge/Government Involvement Archive: http://www.propagandamatrix.com/archiveprior_knowledge [ Post Comment ] Post Comment