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| Legal Potholes |
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Posted by FoM on August 05, 2001 at 07:59:23 PT By Dick Chapman, Toronto Sun Source: Toronto Sun 
Canada's fledgling plan to let sick people get medical marijuana is like an exasperating episode in Joseph Heller's anti-war novel Catch-22, Gulf War veteran Tim Carriere says. The Campbellcroft man says Canada's cannabis catch-22 goes like this: The federal government may allow you to have it, but it's very difficult to find any -- legally. And even if you can, you can hardly afford it. Carriere, 38, is battling the veterans affairs departmennt for reimbursement for medical marijuana for his severely arthritic knees. He wants "tens of thousands of dollars" for previous use of Marinol, a prescribed marijuana derivative in pill form, and wants VA to pay about $45,000 for a home-growing operation. After two years of red tape, he finally got a legal exemption from Health Canada last month -- under its old medical pot rules -- to use and grow marijuana as a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory for osteoarthritis in his knees. The 6-foot-5, 140-pound Carriere has other ailments -- arthritis in his hips, ankles, elbows and hands; lupus; lung disease; bipolar affective disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. But his federal pot permit is based on his knee ailments. As a war veteran, Carriere figures he's entitled to free federal pot -- not yet available -- or a $45,000 hydroponic pot lab. Carriere had a visit from OPP officers last week to review security for storing and growing pot, and realized an eight-foot fence around his acreage near Port Hope would cost $10,000. Ottawa should pay, he says. After all, as a war vet he's entitled to free medication, therapy, medical devices -- even home and automobile renovations -- for illness or disability acquired in our armed forces. Carriere says all his ailments are rooted in his exposure to uranium aboard contaminated Canadian military aircraft during the Gulf War. "I apologize to the whole country for getting hurt at work," Carriere says bitterly. "I gave 11 years to the service of my country. I didn't ask for this. I've been put through the wringer. I'm very proud that I made it through the application process because they sort of made up the rules as they went along. "Veterans affairs has totally destroyed my life over this. I'm a hermit. I have no friends." He says he's got a lengthy computer printout listing a multitude of drugs and therapies he's tried. Marijuana does help, Carriere says. Unlike mind-numbing morphine, pot simply "takes the edge off" his pain but leaves him alert. With three joints a day, he says he can function almost normally.Carriere consumes most marijuana in muffins, cookies, cereal and filtered coffee, since failing lungs make it inadvisable to smoke it -- the best way to get the full effect. However, like hundreds of Canadians already licensed under previous rules or thousands more who will soon meet new federal rules for medical pot, Carriere is caught in an irony: Now he's cleared for use, there's precious little available. The only legally approved mass producer, Prairie Plant Systems of Saskatoon, will not be shipping any retail pot from its underground site at Flin Flon, Man., until at least December. Meanwhile, Ottawa isn't providing marijuana seeds to those previously approved to use it. On Friday the government finally posted its promised application forms and guidelines on Health Canada's marijuana Web site. More than a week ago, Carriere got a friend to drive him to the Toronto Compassion Centre, which has been discreetly dispensing up to seven grams of high-grade marijuana daily to patients with doctors' letters and TCC membership photo-ID cards. That cost him $70 cash and made 14 thin joints, which he stretched almost a week. But that pot was exceptionally potent, he said. Ottawa-approved pot will have a 5%-6% content of THC, the psychoactive ingredient thought to relieve pain and nausea. Street pot can be as high as 20% THC, and Carriere fears buying enough of the weaker Flin Flon variety to ease his pain could wind up costing him $200 a week. Still, that's less than what he'd spent on Marinol -- which contains only one or two of the 60 "cannabinoids" of smoked marijuana. Carriere found he eventually needed 7.5 daily grams of Marinol -- at a cost of $1,400 a month. He's still waiting to be reimbursed by veterans affairs for Marinol consumed for 18 months. Carriere says veterans affairs must pay for medication for service-related illness, and has reimbursed other veterans for Marinol. No VA spokesmen was available to comment at its Peterborough office, or at Ottawa. Note: Grass no greener for patients despite the new medical marijuana law. Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON) Related Articles & Web Site: Canadian Links Time for Discussion on Easing Drug Laws Deep In The Ground Lies The Marijuana Farm CannabisNews Articles - Canada Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #6 posted by dddd on August 06, 2001 at 03:59:32 PT |
| ....is very JAHwise.... Welcome, PoisonedFor4YrsSoFar,,,,your comments are right on!.. JAH Shine on You....dddd [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by PoisonedFor4YrsSoFar on August 06, 2001 at 03:47:02 PT |
| Hello Freedom Fighter, I am glad you liked the link. Before Peter McWillliams died he had a discussion on his email list that the drug war was a form of genocide. Some people argued that was wrong but Peter was always able to refute their arguments. And now he is just as dead as he would have been had he been gassed at Aushwitz. I hope GOD is being really nice to him in heaven. Thanks for being on the side of the good guys freedom fighter. Once you really that the drug war is just one big victimization it is just apalling to watch. And to think the USA is spending 40 billion a year on it when instead it could be spending that money on protecting people from other people who want to hurt them - which they could do a better job at - especially based on my recent experiences. Jack [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by freedom fighter on August 05, 2001 at 23:15:48 PT |
| Thanks for the link You have rather an unusal nick.. Would you mind if you would register your nick and turn it into red so others may not use your nick? No email required, nothing to trace it back to you. If not, I will understand. I am a regular poster down here fighting this injustice for long time. http://cannabisnews.com/news/register.shtml Peace be with you and your family [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by hempity on August 05, 2001 at 22:58:10 PT |
| Didn't Plato say; "The government that can give you everything, can also take it away" Mr. Carriere needs to get in touch with more people in his situation, we are more than a grass root these days. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by PoisonedFor4YrsSoFar on August 05, 2001 at 12:47:38 PT |
| Carriere says all his ailments are rooted in his exposure to uranium aboard contaminated Canadian military aircraft during the Gulf War. If his own government's negligence [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on August 05, 2001 at 09:31:12 PT:
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| I. F. Stone once said it best: "All governments are run by liars, and no one should believe anything they say." By inference, neither should you trust them. Taking it’s cue form it’s neighbor to the South, Canada has been lying to its’ people for decades. Even after it’s own LeDain Commission made roughly the same recommendations as the Shaffer Commission here did in 1972, the lies continued…and the repression grew. With the evidence having been brought before the Ontario Court of Appeals last year concerning the origins of cannabis prohibition, a la Janey Canuck, things are changing. But, as is typical with any purportedly democratic government, the boys in Ottawa are dragging their feet about rectifying this mess. As is usually the case, when the people demand action, the government has only two speeds: dead slow and slower than dead. Of course, when it’s special interest groups that want something, it’s “Yessir, right away sir! Would you like a nice tax break to go with your monopoly, sir?” And people like Mr. Carriere get ground up in the slowly turning wheels of social justice. I sincerely hope Canadian voters take a good long look at the recalcitrant behavior of their pols, and vote accordingly. Otherwise, you might as well become part of the US; your government has become almost indistinguishable from the corporate elitist mess we have. [ Post Comment ] |
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