cannabisnews.com: Demonstration Ends After Health Canada Approves MJ Demonstration Ends After Health Canada Approves MJ Posted by FoM on January 11, 2000 at 07:31:41 PT By Caroline Murray, Ottawa Sun Source: Ottawa Sun Robert Brown smoked a big, fat doobie last night -- and he did so legally.After spending two damp and dreary days protesting on Parliament Hill, the 43-year-old victim of hepatitis C got permission yesterday from Health Canada to get stoned."I'm going to go home and hug my wife and then I'm going to smoke my face off," Brown said just seconds after receiving approval via cellphone from Health Canada. "I'm feeling pretty sick but I'm feeling pretty good." Health Canada tracked Brown down yesterday on the Hill with some help from the RCMP. A grinning Sgt. Ken MacLean found the ill man sitting with a friend in the pouring rain, protected by an oversized umbrella.The sergeant happily handed his cellphone to the demonstrator. On the other end of the line was Dr. Robert Peterson, associate director-general of the therapeutic products program.Brown's sickly face grew bright as Peterson told him his application had been approved."God bless you sir, and have a good day," Brown said before bidding the doctor goodbye and breathing an audible sigh of relief.For the past 12 months, Brown had been trying to get consent from Health Canada to use marijuana as treatment for his illness. He took to the Hill after getting tired of waiting.Yesterday, Brown became the 20th Canadian to get permission since the government made its announcement last spring to start clinical trials of marijuana. In the meanwhile, the government is allowing patients to apply for exemption from prosecution.Health Canada said Brown's two-day protest didn't influence its decision but may have helped expedite the man's application, already in its final stages."Obviously the fact that he was out in the cold and getting sicker probably lent it to gathering the last bit of information (faster)," spokesman Jeff Pender said yesterday.Brown is hoping the government approval will help him in June, when he's scheduled to go to trial on charges of possession, cultivation and intent to traffic. Police raided his Beachburg-area farmhouse in December 1998. Published: January 11, 2000Copyright © 2000, Canoe Limited Partnership. Related Articles:I'm Tired of Being a Criminal - 1/10/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4245.shtmlProtest Rooted in Pot - 1/10/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4243.shtmlI'm Not Afraid of Dying - 1/08/2000http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4224.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by kaptinemo on January 11, 2000 at 15:39:51 PT Ok, Doc, you got your wish Many thanks for the kind words, friends, but I don't merit them. All you read was spleen venting at the inherent stupidity of my country's government. You might recall a month or so ago something very similar happening at Rep. Bob Barr's office. What I had proposed has already happened.Doc, I sent the following to the aforementioned Sun Mail link:After reading Ms. Murray's article, I felt compelled to juxtapose the treatment of Mr. Brown by Canadian authorities as to what he might have experienced had he been conducting his protest on the steps of the US Capitol. It serves to differentiate the styles of the two nations with regards to the matter of 'compassionate use' of cannabis - and illuminates the seeming different attitudes the two governments have with respect to their own citizens.I then did a cut-and-paste of my reaction.It remains to be seen whether they'll publish anything from a cheeky Yank, but... we'll see. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Chris Campbell on January 11, 2000 at 12:47:03 PT: Health Canada did the right thing I was glad to read this article today, I actually wrote a letter to the health minister about it last night but I imagine they had already made their decision by then. Let's just hope the provincial court does the right thing as well. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Doc-Hawk on January 11, 2000 at 10:39:34 PT: Well Done Kaptin. Great article Kaptinemo. I have always enjoyed reading your commentary, but today you have outdone yourself. Now Please....Please...Please send it to: sun.letters ccinet.ab.ca . They probably will publish it with a smart-ass remark.Their other contact info is: Website: http://www.canoe.ca/OttawaSun/Forum: http://www.canoe.ca/Chat/home.htmlBravo! MAP: DrugNews Index [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on January 11, 2000 at 09:23:04 PT Happy but sad! Hello kaptinemo,When I posted this article I was so happy for him but I feel such sadness for all of us here in the USA. I am ashamed to be an American anymore. I never thought I would feel that way but I do now. We aren't free! We're just not free and it is so disheartening. When will they wake up! I just don't get it. Marijuana doesn't hurt anyone and it is not addicting. You might miss it if you don't have any but that is because it is a kind herb that makes people relax a little. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on January 11, 2000 at 08:42:11 PT Canadian compassion, US tyranny Had Brown been in the US, the scenario would probably gone like this: 'Capitol Police today arrested Robert Brown for publicly demonstrating on the Capitol grounds without a permit and in violation of the lobbying laws for not having first secured recognition as a registerd lobbyist for his organization. He will be arraigned on Wednesday.''Brown has been a vocal proponent for the so-called 'compassionate use of medical marijuana' which law enforcement officials claim is little more than a ruse to permit legal use of an illegal drug.'No mention would have been made by the corporately controlled media of his infirmities, or if they had, it would have been dismissed by saying 'authorites' have determined that commercially made and FDA approved alternatives exist.Land of the Free and home of the Brave? You gotta be kidding!!! 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