cannabisnews.com: Ottawa's Marijuana Stash Sitting on The Shelf Ottawa's Marijuana Stash Sitting on The Shelf Posted by CN Staff on July 22, 2003 at 07:36:00 PT By Chris Nuttall-Smith, CanWest News Service Source: Vancouver Sun Burlington, Ont. -- Canada's licensed medical marijuana users aren't exactly crashing down the doors to buy the government's stash. Nearly two weeks after Health Canada said it would sell dried marijuana and seeds to licensed medical users, just 16 of 582 potential buyers have submitted applications, said Jirina Vlk, a ministry representative. The ministry's office of cannabis medical access announced July 9 it would sell its stash, and posted application forms on the Internet that day. Vlk said more patients will apply to buy the product over time. "It's going to take people some time to read the policy, become familiar with it, fill out the application," she said. "They need to see the doctor, see if the doctor will receive the product -- the doctor has to agree to receive the product -- then they need to go to their lawyers. That will all take time." Vlk said the ministry has not approved any of the applications it has received. However, frustrated users said Health Canada has set the barriers so high that applying for the pot might not be worth the trouble. "It's not worth it, absolutely not," said Alison Myrden, a Burlington, Ont,. native who uses marijuana to relieve symptoms of multiple sclerosis.Myrden, an advocate for safe access to medical marijuana, said she has applied for 30 grams, or about an ounce, of dried marijuana, mostly because she wants to know if it's any good. As she sat on her living room couch Monday, wincing with the pain her illness causes -- even after smoking several joints -- she said she is a reluctant applicant. "The government shouldn't make people do this. These people have already proven they're sick. These people have proved they're dying or they have chronic illnesses that cannot be helped with other medication. They should not have to do this." Ottawa introduced the application program to comply with a court-imposed deadline. This winter, an Ontario court gave the federal government six months to provide legal access to marijuana for medical users. Health Canada will appeal that ruling this month.Myrden said her application was not easy.The OMCA requires that applicants swear out their forms in front of a lawyer or a commissioner for oaths. Myrden said it took nearly a dozen calls before she could find a lawyer who would lend a signature and an official seal to her application. The forms also require applicants to pledge they won't get marijuana or seeds from any other source than Health Canada.Complete Title: Ottawa's Marijuana Stash Sitting on The Shelf, Wrapped in Red Tape Snipped: Complete Article: http://canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/story.asp?id=BBEE1E17-8665-4D3A-825E-5A2E49BDFE6FSource: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)Author: Chris Nuttall-Smith, CanWest News Service Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2003Copyright: 2003 Vancouver Sun Contact: sunletters pacpress.southam.caWebsite: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/Related Articles & Web Sites:Canadians for Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccess.ca/The Medical Marijuana Missionhttp://www.themarijuanamission.com/Canada To Offer Marijuana To Medical Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16807.shtmlOttawa To Sell Marijuana To Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16825.shtmlSpecial Delivery: Feds To Begin Mailing Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16823.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by Buzzz on July 23, 2003 at 10:53:40 PT: med weed scam the gov claims that its cheaper than street weed as a 'selling"point. it should be free in the end to the consumer in canada with the standard dispensing fee of a few dollars or cover by health plans or if you cant afford the plans the social programs should be available to cover it after all we do get taxed incredibly high. the price is too high as its prob poor grade anyway and its a comparison of apples and oranges. again its a goal of monopoly and getting back an investment that was never thought out in the first place. i wonder what growing criteria flin flop is bound to. med clubs must meet standards before dispensing, as an ex mold would never pass nor would low grade bunk and in most cases hydroponics .Theres usually a list of whats acceptable and what isnt for growing for med patients if the clubs are legit ,I know this to be true because i've worked with a med club ,and also legal fees for court far exceed any profits. everyday we see new legal drug commercials announcing side effects that are so bizarre you wonder how it could ever get approval and they are pushed down our throats every visit to the doctors office.The side effects in turn, let the doctors prescribe more drugs to counteract the initial ones, a drug domino .. its a nation of legal drug addicts using children to test the ritalin etc and thats fine because they get a cut of the cash / i fear first or second hand smoke from a reefer a lot less than our silly government's actions. do the terminally ill really give a damn about "what if's"? .. some of these officials should stop drinking and examine how stupid their statements are in the grand scheme.Our government is on a power trip and just want total control. One last thing, the doctors dont want to dispense pot because they dont want to be drug dealers.. It amazes because its exactly what they do or maybe the writing of the script isnt the same as dispensing .. peace im off to take my valium ,prozac maybe a few zoolofts and such thats socially acceptable ...i need some sleep before i have a coffee and a wake up pill so i can do it all over again legally. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Ethan Russo MD on July 22, 2003 at 08:17:18 PT: Comment Here you have analysis by two of the most intelligent, educated and compassionate medical exemptees in Canada. It would be simple for Alison and Philippe to keep quiet and to themselves. Rather, they have both chosen to look outward, and strive for better treatment and availability for everyone in need. They have my boundless admiration.Now, if only Health Canada and other bureaucracies would listen to them, their experience, their counsel. A vital resource is being ignored. That goes for Matt Elrod in the last post, as well. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo MD on July 22, 2003 at 08:13:35 PT: The Rest--- The forms also require applicants to pledge they won't get marijuana or seeds from any other source than Health Canada.That pledge has implications for people such as Myrden.She said it means she would no longer be able to get free marijuana provided by her friends.. On top of this, she buys $1,200 worth each month on the black market, where top-quality marijuana sells for between $200 and $800 an ounce. The government's supply goes for $5 a gram, or $140 an ounce.Myrden smokes about 12 grams of marijuana and eats marijuana butter -- a pesto-like blend of leaves, stems and butter -- every day to control her pain, to relieve muscle spasms and to keep down her other medications, which include a variety of strong pain-killers.When she has access to decent marijuana, Myrden says she can cut her other drug dose to less than half. Myrden also had to persuade her doctor to accept the marijuana on her behalf. This can be a significant hurdle.Many doctors have said they won't accept delivery of government marijuana, even if it's legal. The Canadian Medical Association has warned doctors they shouldn't be distributing marijuana, and the Canadian Medical Protective Association, a collective insurance and defense pool for Canadian doctors, has warned that doing so could put doctors at legal risk. There are more practical considerations, too. In an interview, Philippe Lucas, a medical user who is director of Canadians for Safe Access, a lobby group, said most "compassion clubs" that supply marijuana to sick Canadians have security systems to thwart thieves. He said many doctors offices don't have such precautions in place.Lucas said he is skeptical of the government's process."[The government] is seeking to overturn this decision, to stop the distribution of medical cannabis as we speak," said Lucas, referring to the ministry's court fight. Lucas also said the government' cannabis is likely inferior to what can be obtained on the street.The ministry's cannabis access office has said its marijuana contains about 10 per cent tetra-hydro-cannibol, the key compound that causes marijuana's high. However, Lucas said the Vancouver Island Compassion Society, of which he is a director, tested seven of its strains of marijuana, and found between 18 per cent and 24.5 per cent THC content of in each of them. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by afterburner on July 22, 2003 at 08:12:51 PT: Tomorrow Will Be Two Weeks... Since Health Canada said they would start shipping medical cannabis to exemptees "next week." Instead they create more hurdles and barriers with applications, doctor's approval, and lawyer's certification, just to get the medicine, for which the exemptees have already qualified.Vlk said the ministry has not approved any of the applications it has received. What the H-E-double hockey sticks is Health Canada waiting for? They are jerking the patients around again. They have lied again to the patients on national television for the whole country and a certain nosy neighbour to the south to see and hear. Hats off to Alison Myrden for calling their bluff, even with the onerous conditions they tack on.ego transcendence follows ego destruction, stop stalling, safe access now! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment