cannabisnews.com: Posties Won't Ship Medical Pot





Posties Won't Ship Medical Pot
Posted by CN Staff on June 04, 2004 at 17:34:15 PT
By Mary Nersessian, Globe and Mail Update 
Source: Globe and Mail 
Canada Post has been refusing to deliver medicinal marijuana to licensed users and it is unclear whether they will agree to change their policy.Officials from Health Canada discussed the policy with the crown corporation Friday after learning that the post office was sticking to a regulation that treats any kind of marijuana shipment as verboten.
Talks are to continue into next week, though a spokesman at Canada Post acknowledged Friday that he did not know whether the old policy remains in force in the meantime.“We have had some consultations with Health Canada and we don't know where we stand on this at this time,” Canada Post spokesperson John Caines said, “We have a Canada Post Act and we have to abide by regulations.”Mr. Caines said that, as recently as the middle of this week, shipping any form of marijuana was against Canada Post policy because it was considered “an illegal substance.” He could not say what the current policy was.This is not the first time they have had discussions to resolve this issue, Health Canada spokesperson Catherine Saunders said, although she was unable to specify when they spoke last or why discussions were prompted again Friday. Health Canada permits the shipment of medicinal marijuana if it is sent from an authorized producer to a licensed user by means of a traceable shipment such as a courier or registered mail, said Ms. Saunders.Canadian AIDS Society National Programs Consultant Lynne Belle-Isle is outraged that there isn't already a resolution.“My first reaction was one of shock because yet another barrier is being put up for people trying to access marijuana,” she told globeandmail.com on Friday, hours after announcing the society's new position statement on the therapeutic use of marijuana for people with HIV/AIDS.The statement said that the Canadian AIDS Society “recognizes the need to address the remaining barriers to access to cannabis for therapeutic purposes through Health Canada's Marijuana Medical Access Regulations,” the statement said.“I'm hoping that Health Canada and Canada Post will work something out,” Ms. Belle-Isle said, adding that the terminally ill living in remote areas are most likely to be affected. She said that people with HIV/AIDS may be unable to afford different shipping methods, such as couriers, because “most of these people are already living on disability and have limited incomes.”Toronto-based microbiologist Enrico Mandarino, who is on the Canadian AIDS Society board of directors, and has been using marijuana medicinally for the past three years to deal with anorexia, has no problem finding marijuana in a major city.But if he lived in a remote area and Canada Post refused to ship it to him, “It would just further frustrate me around the barriers to access,” Mr. Mandarino said. The marijuana helps to increase his appetite, decrease his nausea and stabilize weight loss.“This is unacceptable, the whole idea [of legalizing medicinal marijuana] was to make it more accessible for medicinal users,” Ms. Belle-Isle said.Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author:  Mary Nersessian, Globe and Mail Update Published: Friday, June 4, 2004 Copyright: 2004 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htm Nearly a Third of Legal Marijuana Users Reject Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18758.shtmlMedical Marijuana: How To Acquire & Distributehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18562.shtmlHealth Canada's Reefer Madnesshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17376.shtml 
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Comment #4 posted by Sam Adams on June 05, 2004 at 07:19:06 PT
It's simple
The government workers are standing up for their brethren who are employed by the WOD. Sorry guys, the fat government gravy train can't go on forever. Look at the poor Russians right now, that's where we're headed. 
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Comment #3 posted by RasAric on June 04, 2004 at 20:34:52 PT
Let me add to the previous post
Of course there is absolutely no legit reason for not delivering as medicine is a necessity. The Crown post service has no place in obstructing legitimate medical deliveries. Also, if what were in a package were their business we would be wrapping shipments in saran wrap instead of opaque brown paper.
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Comment #2 posted by RasAric on June 04, 2004 at 20:28:30 PT
Easily remedied
The Canadian post ships tons a bud...As long as it's stealth.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on June 04, 2004 at 17:39:00 PT
Related Article from The CBC
Canada Post Won't Deliver Man's Medicinal Pot June 4, 2004OTTAWA - Canada Post is refusing to deliver marijuana to a man who is legally allowed to smoke it. Michel Aubé has a Health Canada licence that gives him the right to use marijuana for health reasons.Health Canada officials are working with Canada Post to resolve the problem.
 
Aubé takes morphine pills for severe back pain, but he says marijuana is the drug that really helps."The pain disappears. I feel kind of normal," Aubé says. "I'm not always tired. I'm able to go to the bathroom."Even though Aubé has the federal licence to receive medicinal marijuana, Canada Post is refusing to ship it from his B.C. supplier, on the grounds that it's illegal to deliver a controlled substance. 
"It's hell, and I don't think it's right that they are holding my medication, which is what it is to me, it's medication," Aubé says.This story has received some front-page coverage, but Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew, during an election campaign stop, claimed to know nothing about it. "Well, I'll read the story and tell you after I've read the story. Funny, but I like to read the story first before commenting on them," Pettigrew said.However, Friday afternoon, Pettigrew's department issued a brief statement saying Health Canada officials are working with Canada Post to resolve the problem.The medical marijuana program was brought in by former health minister Allan Rock, but it's been plagued with problems.The Marijuana Party candidate in Ottawa Centre, Mike Foster, says this latest problem shows government support for medical marijuana is lukewarm."We've always questioned the government's commitment to this, because they have not seemed to do anything properly. [They] don't know what they are doing," Foster says. Michel Aubé, meanwhile, is stuck taking morphine until he gets more pot. He says it's not a good alternative because it takes away his appetite and leaves him exhausted. Copyright: 2004 CBChttp://ottawa.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ot_marijuana20040604
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