cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Advocates Offer Health Canada Tips 





Marijuana Advocates Offer Health Canada Tips 
Posted by FoM on August 03, 2000 at 09:12:52 PT
By Idella Sturino
Source: Vancouver Sun
People with criminal records shouldn't be excluded from supplying medicinal marijuana, a group that advocates the therapeutic use of pot recommended Wednesday. Health Canada should consider the knowledge of long-time growers who may have faced charges for growing marijuana, said Marc-Boris St-Maurice of the Canadian Cannabis Coalition. 
"Valuable experience in breeding marijuana is lost and nothing is gained by this criteria," St-Maurice told a news conference. Exluding them from supplying marijuana in medical trials to be conducted by Ottawa isn't in the best interests of people who need it, he said. Last year, Health Minister Allan Rock announced Ottawa would gather evidence on the safety and effectiveness of marijuana in treating medical conditions. Rock said the federal government was looking for suppliers of high-grade pot for the trials. The Canadian Cannabis Coalition made public a list of recommendations that it will give to Health Canada for the medical trials. Advocates for the medicinal use of marijuana say pot can ease nausea and stimulate appetites in people who suffer from symptoms of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and other illnesses. St-Maurice said Rock also has excluded small-scale growers from providing medicinal pot. St-Maurice volunteers at a Montreal centre called the Compassion Club which provides therapeutic pot to people with chronic illnesses. The centres also operate in Toronto and Vancouver. Patients must have a doctor's prescription to get marijuana. Health Canada has the power to grant exemptions to people who want to use pot for medicinal reasons, but it has only granted about 50 to date. The Cannabis Coalition also said Wednesday researchers shouldn't limit their study to the effects of mild marijuana. "This might seem shocking, but as far as medical marijuana is concerned, the safer marijuana is the one that is more potent," St-Maurice said. He said stronger pot prompts people to inhale less smoke and does less damage to their lungs. Health Canada wouldn't comment Wednesday on the coalition's recommendations. Spokeswoman Roslyn Tremblay said Health Canada needs time to review the proposals. Tremblay added that Health Canada expects to announce suppliers for the clinical trials this fall. The coalition's comments came just two days after the Ontario Court of Appeal declared unconstitutional the law that prohibits possession of marijuana. The court ruled the law fails to recognize that pot can be used for medicinal purposes by people with chronic illnesses. It said if Ottawa doesn't clarify the law within a year, marijuana possession will be legal for anyone in Ontario. However, possession of marijuana is still illegal and the law remains in full force. Health Canada officials have said they would study the decision. Montreal police wouldn't comment the group's recommendations, which also included the use of organically grown pot. Contact: sunletters pacpress.southam.ca Published: August 3, 2000Copyright: The Vancouver Sun 2000Related Articles & Web Site:Canadian Cannabis Coalition http://www.drugsense.org/ccc/Reefer Madness Reduxhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6594.shtmlMarijuana as Medicinehttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread6593.shtmlRewrite Law on Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6589.shtmlOntario Court Says Law Against MJ Unconstitutionalhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6576.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml CannabisNews Articles - Medical Marijuana Canadahttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=medical+marijuana+canada
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