cannabisnews.com: Canada Issues Plan On Medical Marijuana 





Canada Issues Plan On Medical Marijuana 
Posted by FoM on April 07, 2001 at 08:46:28 PT
DeNeen L. Brown, Washington Post Foreign Service
Source: Washington Post
The Canadian government today proposed rules that would allow terminally ill patients and people suffering from chronic illnesses such as arthritis and AIDS to buy, cultivate and use marijuana for medicinal purposes.Under the plan, which would go into effect July 31, the patients would have to prove to authorities that only marijuana could ease their suffering. The rules would allow third parties to grow marijuana for patients who can't grow the plants themselves and would legalize transport and possession for medicinal purposes.
"Canada is acting compassionately by allowing people who are suffering from grave and debilitating illnesses to have access to marijuana for medical purposes," said Health Minister Allan Rock. "Today's announcement is the next important step. . . . It will bring greater clarity to the process for Canadians who require the use of this drug to alleviate symptoms."Rock said the rules would not make recreational use of marijuana legal.Canada has long prided itself in having a tough yet compassionate approach to drug users. In the United States, moves by eight states to legalize medicinal use of marijuana have caused broad public debate and litigation; critics say the drug's medical usefulness is unproven. But in Canada steps toward legalization have prompted far less opposition.Chuck Thomas, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, a nonprofit group working to change U.S. laws on the drug, said the United States should follow Canada's lead. "We need the federal government to change laws," Thomas said. "Right now, people who use medical marijuana in the United States even when recommended by a doctor are treated like criminals."Kristin Hansen, a spokeswoman for the Family Research Council, a nonprofit group opposed to legalizing marijuana for any use, said proposed rules in Canada send the wrong message to children."It sends a bad message to kids that marijuana has positive benefits and that it is a so-called medicine," Hansen said. "We believe the best way to help people who are sick and dying is to utilize the drugs we have that are approved to give relief."Since 1999, the Canadian government has allowed patients to apply for special permission to use marijuana for medicinal purposes. To date, 220 people have received clearance.The regulations proposed today would formalize that system. They resulted from a ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal calling for clear regulations on medical use. Now comes a consultation period in which law enforcement groups and health agencies could comment, possibly resulting in changes before the July 31 implementation.The rules cover three categories of patients. The first is people so ill that they have a prognosis of death within 12 months. The second is patients who have serious diseases such as cancer, AIDS, HIV infection and multiple sclerosis.In both of these categories, the law would allow marijuana to be used to help relieve muscle spasms, chronic pain, nausea, anorexia and other symptoms, provided that other drugs did not work.The third category covers those who think marijuana can help their symptoms. "It is for those who firmly believe this is the solution for them," said Roslyn Tremblay, a spokeswoman for Health Canada, the national health department. "They have tried medication and other treatments that don't work for them."Tremblay said patients would require a recommendation by a physician, who would then fill out forms and submit an application to the government.Tremblay said it would probably not be possible for a U.S. patient to cross the border and obtain the drug. "This is within our borders," she said. "These rules apply to residents and citizens of Canada."The eight U.S. states that have moved to legalize medicinal use of marijuana are California, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada and Colorado.Note: Patients Have to Show Drug's Benefits Source: Washington Post (DC) Author: DeNeen L. Brown, Washington Post Foreign ServicePublished: Saturday, April 7, 2001; Page A14 Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company Contact: letterstoed washpost.comWebsite: http://www.washingtonpost.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Health Canadahttp://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/Family Research Councilhttp://www.frc.org/Ottawa Unveils Rules for Medical Use of Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9290.shtmlCanada Boost for Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9289.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on April 08, 2001 at 19:47:46 PT:
Exemption under Section 56 - Medical Purposes PDF
Health Canada A-Z Index - M to Ohttp://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/azindex_mno.htmApplication (Exemption under Section 56 for a Medical Purpose) http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpb-dgps/therapeut/zfiles/english/cds/guides/hc9130_e.pdf
My Medical Marijuana Page
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Comment #3 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on April 07, 2001 at 17:08:39 PT:
Calling Nate H.
Please E-mail me if you have a moment: erusso blackfoot.net
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Comment #2 posted by Nate H. on April 07, 2001 at 10:26:31 PT
Family Research Council 
As a Canadian, who has written extensively on drug-policy issues, I can say that groups such as the Family Research Council have virtually no impact on federal drug laws.Americans might find this hard to believe, but there are very few organized anti-legalization groups in Canada of any significance - most are very small-scale outfits consisting of a handful of cranks and their friends. Our federal gov't does not subsidize anti-legalization groups, nor do they sell cheap air-time on television for anti-legalization messages. Canadian TV rarely ever broadcasts anti-drugs ads; you're far more likely to see television spots warning against tobacco or drunk driving, than U.S. style "reefer madness" anti-pot ads. Oh yeah, one final point: more people were arrested (or cited, at least) in New York City for mairjuana possession last year than in all of Canada. Like alcohol prohibition, the war on drugs will grind to a halt in Canada first, before the U.S.Nate H.Toronto, ON
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on April 07, 2001 at 09:57:54 PT:
Wind-up toy antis
"Kristin Hansen, a spokeswoman for the Family Research Council, a nonprofit group opposed to legalizing marijuana for any use, said proposed rules in Canada send the wrong message to children."It sends a bad message to kids that marijuana has positive benefits and that it is a so-called medicine," Hansen said. "We believe the best way to help people who are sick and dying is to utilize the drugs we have that are approved to give relief."Yes, Ms. Hansen...like maybe the Kytril that costs 50 USD a pill - and was promptly barfed up like everything else the 79 year old chemo patient I cared for tried to keep down?I wish I could have held the head of the oh-so-certain-of-moral-rectitude Ms. Hansen face-up in the path of the ejecta of this poor old women.Or at least make her swab up the mess for an entire week.It's soooo easy to be a crusader. That is, until you hear the cries of those whom you've trampled and maimed and killed on your march to victory.To paraphrase Lincoln, God must love flaming idiots; He's certainly made a lot in this country.Our own Observer has pointed out in an earlier post that the antis all seem to be reading from the same script; witness their fondness for using the phrase "thinly veiled tactics". Well, this latest bit from the "save-the-children-by-killing-them" crowd (ever heard of Alberto Sepulveda, Ms. Hansen?) is just more proof that someone else with more intellectual acumen than their rank-and-file possesses is scripting their public utterances. The problem is, it's getting noticably old.Like a little wind-up robot whose controls are stuck in a hard right turn; it goes around and around in a circle and never seems to get anywhere. And the entire time, it's malfunctioning gears are sparking and grinding and making a senseless racket. Until enough people get tired of its' 'one-trick' repertoire and pitch it where it belongs.And even the disinterested public is starting to tire of anti verbiage; look at how much of the article is devoted to the standard boring-to-tears anti dreck...and how much isn't. The anti's will have to get the equivalent of a new wind-up mouthpiece; their biggest problem is that they have run out of original lies to tell, and can thus only scream their limited supply of falsehoods only louder. And people are starting to notice.
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