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  Canada OK's Medical Marijuana
Posted by FoM on July 31, 2001 at 08:14:28 PT
By Colin Nickerson, Globe Staff 
Source: Boston Globe 

medical Canada yesterday became the first country to allow people suffering from terminal illness or long-term debilitating disease to grow and smoke their own marijuana.

Under new regulations issued by the Ministry of Health - and sharply criticized by Canadian medical organizations as confusing and open to abuse - patients suffering from diseases ranging from AIDS to crippling forms of arthritis will be allowed to legally cultivate personal gardens of relief, if they first obtain a doctor's approval.

Those unable to grow their own supply will be able to obtain marijuana being grown under the jurisdiction of Health Canada in a ''greenhouse'' located in an abandoned mine deep underground in Manitoba.

The Canadian Medical Association accused the government of moving too swiftly in response to emotional campaigns by AIDS victims' groups as well as by activists whose long-term goal is outright legalization of marijuana.

''There is no good, solid research anywhere in the world to show that this is good treatment'' for pain management, said Dr. Peter Barrett of the medical association, which represents tens of thousands of Canadian doctors. ''Fundamental medical issues of quality, efficacy, and patient safety have been ignored.''

But federal Health Minister Allan Rock said the new rules will significantly improve the quality of life for patients close to death or suffering severe pain as the result of chronic illness.

''Today's announcement is a landmark in our ongoing efforts to give Canadians suffering debilitating illness access to marijuana for medical purposes,'' Rock said.

The move won praise from cannabis clubs and other groups in the United States, Canada, and Europe that have long argued marijuana should be regarded as an effective medicine for easing pain or providing relief from the side effects of chemotherapy.

''This proves that Canada is truly the most progressive, compassionate society in the world,'' said Derek Thaczuk of the People With AIDS Foundation, a Toronto organization. ''I am proud to be living in this country.''

Under present health rules, only 300 Canadians have won exemptions from criminal laws banning marijuana possession, allowing them to smoke legally to relieve symptoms of cancer, severe arthritis, epilepsy, and other disease.

Under the new rules, authorities conceded, thousands of sick people may be eligible for a special federal license to cultivate their own marijuana, designate someone else to grow it for them, or obtain ''medical marijuana'' grown under artificial lights in a government-authorized hydroponic laboratory in a former copper mine in Flin Flon, Manitoba. There, a private company, Prairie Plant Systems, has won a $3.5 million contract to become Canada's official marijuana supplier.

The first government-sanctioned harvest of marijuana for general medical use should be underway in the underground site this fall, and eventually about 1,000 pounds of legal marijuana will be produced annually and rolled into cigarettes for distribution to eligible sick people.

''A Canadian source of research-grade marijuana is essential to move forward on our plan,'' said Rock, the health minister.

Any Canadian diagnosed with a terminal illness will be more or less automatically granted a federal license to procure marijuana upon receiving certification from a physician that death is likely within 12 months.

People in no immediate danger of death but suffering from incapacitating pain or disease with debilitating symptoms that have not responded to conventional therapy - severe forms of arthritis and epilepsy, for example - will have to obtain certification from two physicians before they can participate in the world's first government system for providing free marijuana to the ill.

Only citizens or legal residents of the country can participate in Canada's socialized health systems, so US residents seeking medical marijuana will not be eligible.

The US Supreme Court ruled in May that cannabis clubs cannot distribute marijuana to seriously ill patients. The judges supported the US Justice Department's argument that, since there is no proof that marijuana is medically useful, the substance should continue to be outlawed.

North of the border, by contrast, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled last year that patients suffering from terminal or painful chronic illnesses should be allowed access to marijuana in cases where a doctor deems the drug might alleviate symptoms.

A few Canadian doctors support the new rules on the grounds of compassion, if not therapy. ''Maybe there aren't studies, but marijuana seems to help a certain number of people cope with pain, so maybe this is a good step,'' said Dr. Francois Lehman, a Montreal physician.

But Lehman was bucking the skeptical view of Canada's medical mainstream.

In a statement last night, the Canadian Medical Association warned: ''These regulations are placing Canadian physicians and their patients in the precarious position of attempting to access a product that has not gone through the normal protocols of rigorous premarket testing.''

A study in this month's British Medical Journal cast doubt on marijuana's usefulness as medicine, saying cannabis is no more effective than proven pain relievers and may have dangerous side effects.

Canada's new rule took effect against a backdrop of increased pressure on the liberal government to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Several prominent political leaders, including Justice Minister Anne McLellan, have recently indicated some openness to the idea.

Cannabis advocates hailed the new medical marijuana policy as a significant first step.

''The next step is to totally decriminalize this plant for everyone,'' Robin Ellins, owner of a cannabis shop in Toronto, told CBC television.

Note: Groundbreaking move lauded, hit.

This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 7/31/2001

Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Author: Colin Nickerson, Globe Staff
Published: July 31, 2001
Copyright: 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.
Contact: letter@globe.com
Website: http://www.boston.com/globe/

Related Articles & Web Site:

Canadian Links
http://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htm

Canada Expands Medicinal Use of Marijuana
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10474.shtml

Canada Allows Terminally Ill To Smoke Marijuana
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10467.shtml

CannabisNews Articles - Canada
http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=canada


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Comment #1 posted by bill stanoski on July 31, 2001 at 13:52:37 PT:

legal
Kudos to Canada. The sentence that states "this proves that Canada is the most progressive and compassionate country in the world", is wholeheartedly agreed with. This the first bit of good sense I've seen a Governing party make in a very long time. I hope the lawmakers in the U.S aren't too busy with their interns to take example of this great event.

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