cannabisnews.com: The Plant Of Life!





The Plant Of Life!
Posted by FoM on August 29, 1999 at 06:17:29 PT
By Kathleen Harris -- Ottawa Sun
Source: Ottawa Sun
Health Canada is cautiously creeping toward the decriminalization of marijuana for medical use; it's a move that does little to help hepatitis C sufferer Robert Brown.
 In a case that could be described as vigilante self-help, Robert Brown is both a victim and -- in the warped view of the law -- a criminal. While Health Canada cautiously and "compassionately" tip-toes toward decriminalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, this chronically tired, sick man is being dragged through court. Diagnosed with hepatitis C in 1990, Brown has tried every modern treatment, pill and injection to ease the constant nausea, throat spasms and reduced appetite. But it's the ages-old cannabis drug that has helped keep him alive. Last December, police raided Brown's farmhouse near Beachburg, seizing plants, literature and the growing lamps he and wife Linda had saved for months to buy. The couple was charged with possession, cultivation and intent to traffic. They made a day-long appearance in Renfrew court last week, and will return next week to set a date for trial. Shamed in his own community and church, the bust and continuing legal battle has justifiably made Brown a bitter man.  'MEDICAL NECESSITY' Still, he won't give up what he calls a "medical necessity" -- the drug that helps him swallow the daily assortment of pills and keep down enough food to stay alive. Why should he should have to? Brown's day does not begin, like ours, with a tumbler of orange juice, a bowl of cereal and a slice of toast. Stumbling from bed sick to his stomach, he moves his thin, white frame down a set of stairs -- sometimes pausing half-way to catch his breath. Then he draws back the curtain to a private basement room and falls back into a well-worn armchair. Choosing a pipe to soften the assault on a throat raw from dry heaves, Brown lights up a joint and inhales with staccato puffs. He admits it's a disgusting morning ritual. And it continues regularly through the afternoon, then the evening. Brown's decision to use marijuana did not come easily, since he has a propensity for addiction. Abused in his early childhood, he grew up to be a drug-addicted youth and an alcoholic adult. After a couple of brushes with the law, it took a suicidal crash to rock bottom in 1987 to make Brown finally take control of his life. He struggled to kick the drug habit, give up the booze and rebuild his family and his life. Three years later, his proud success story was marred with a cruel twist: He was diagnosed with the deadly hep C. Overwhelming testimony shows marijuana has therapeutic value, yet Canada has been painfully slow to back the anecdotal evidence with scientific proof. This spring, Health Canada made a welcome breakthrough, promising to commission clinical trials for marijuana. To properly protect the safety of Canadians, the tests must be carried out over a course of years to learn about the potential risks and benefits associated with the drug. In the meantime, Health Canada insists, patients who benefit from cannabis can apply for exemptions from prosecution. If only it were that simple. When Brown was told about the positive effects by medical practitioners three years ago, it was in a discreet, almost secretive, manner. His experience highlights how this federal access policy, however well-intended, is ineffective unless patients are properly informed about it. With Health Canada's formal acknowledgement that marijuana may have some medicinal properties must also come the obligation to inform people about the proper channels for legal access. So far the ministry has not given formal guidelines to doctors, nurses or other medical professionals about how they should advise patients when no legal alternatives are effective. Even those patients who do manage to uncover information about the "application" process eventually learn that obtaining an exemption is not an easy feat. Health Canada spokeswoman Reva Berman says between 80 and 90 applications have been submitted to date. No one has yet been denied, but despite the promised turnaround of 15 working days, only two have been approved so far. Berman says there's been a low number of processed files because most applications submitted have been incomplete. But Brown's lawyer Richard Reimer disagrees. He insists it's because there are inherent flaws in the application process -- such as a question that asks which "licensed" distributor the drug will be obtained from. He has looked, but as far as he can see, there aren't any. At least not in Canada. Reimer, a partner in a prestigious Pembroke law firm, suffers from multiple sclerosis and has also sought an exemption.  VICTIM OF RED TAPE But it seems he's also a victim of the red tape. Since January, he has exchanged correspondence with his MP and the health ministry. His MP has also exchanged correspondence with the health ministry. But he's still waiting. When Robert Brown was 37, doctors told him there was a 90% chance he would not see 40. At 41, they warned he may not celebrate his next birthday. He has made it to 43, but Brown has just received news his body isn't responding to the latest treatment. Most victims of AIDS, MS, cancer and hep C don't have time to waste. It seems sadistic to make them spend their dying days in court. It makes little practical sense to spend time and money prosecuting cases of people using pot as medicine. It makes even less sense to take away a sick man's ability to ease his own suffering. "I'm just trying to stay alive. How can they deny me the thing that helps me do that?" Brown asks. It's a good question -- one that all "compassionate" Canadians should be asking. August 29, 1999 
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Comment #1 posted by sonnyboy on October 23, 1999 at 12:27:56 PT:
legal exemtion
I also am afflicted with chronic Hep C. The treatments were killing me(literaly).I got an app.kit from my Lib. M.P.for exemption.Took it to my Doc. and discussed it with him.He firmly agreed and understood the med. benifits in my situation.He wrote a letter to the Ministry of Health,making sure to respond to the nessessary criteria in the app.It took 2 1/2 months,but I am now one of recent 14 fortunate (or unfortunate) sick people with an exemption.I have reasonable restrictions as to how much I can grow,and can carry an oz. to use when needed.So Alan Rocks system Is working.,It's new,They are breaking new ground so they'll (Too slowly) learn to improve the process.Many have suffered needlessly for too long and more will unfortunately, Hang in there,Keep the pressure on them,it's the only way to get noticed,Only way to get action.I know presicely how much it took out of me getting through the red tape,But it was worth it,I made it,Maybe it will be easier now on the next guy.I HOPE. 
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