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  Program Thrown for a Loop When U.S. Refused Seeds
Posted by CN Staff on May 07, 2002 at 18:32:33 PT
By The Canadian Press 
Source: Canadian Press 

medical U.S. drug-enforcement authorities threw Health Canada's medical marijuana program for a loop by refusing to provide access to their research-quality supply of seeds.

The story about what went wrong in the medical pot program emerged Tuesday for the first time, as Health Minister Anne McLellan explained protracted delays in providing marijuana to eligible patients. The program was intended for people dying or suffer from specific painful conditions, both for research and for compassionate reasons.

Former health minister Allan Rock announced details of the program last April, saying the marijuana was supposed to be available by January.

But it emerged Tuesday at a committee meeting that U.S. authorities refused last year to supply Canada with reliable, tested seeds. The U.S. decision wasn't announced at the time, nor was it mentioned by Rock.

That left Health Canada to use seeds police had confiscated, which have produced a crop containing at least 185 different varieties of pot, from dynamite to dud quality.

McLellan isn't giving any new target dates for availability.

"We remain committed to ensuring that eligible Canadians have access to a standardized supply of research-grade marijuana for medical purposes," McLellan told the Commons health committee.

"While our policy has not changed, our time lines have."

The situation raises questions about how Rock could announce a high-profile plan to grow medical marijuana without having an assured source of seeds.

In December 2000, Prairie Plant Systems of Saskatoon was chosen to provide Health Canada with quality, standardized marijuana, to be delivered by January 2002.

The projection was based on the assumption that Prairie Plant Systems would have access to reliable, tested seeds, McLellan said.

Assistant deputy Health Minister Dann Michols said Health Canada negotiated for months to get seeds from the U.S. National Institute of Drug Abuse, which did marijuana research that has ended.

"They had the only legal source of supply of marijuana but they needed clearance from the Drug Enforcement Agency and it didn't come." said Michols.

He said he didn't know why access was refused, but conceded there are people in the U.S. government opposed to research on marijuana's benefits.

Michols said Prairie Plant Systems will have to sort through the seeds they have to find those with the right characteristics to establish a standardized supply. That could take months.

McLellan said problems are to be expected since Health Canada's effort to make medical marijuana available is the first such program in the world.

Once a standardized, potent supply of marijuana has been developed, Health Canada will conduct clinical trials to establish its therapeutic benefits, which will take additional years.

"No one is more concerned than I am in relation to this situation but . . . trial and error is going to be a part of it and I think people have to be patient," said McLellan.

"These are medical trials and therefore we have to make sure that we have a standardized product. If not, what would you be saying about the Department of Health and what would you be saying about me?"

The department will continue to permit people with a doctor's approval to grow their own pot, or get someone to grow it for them, even though that product obviously won't be standardized.

Complete Title: Medical Marijuana Program Thrown for a Loop When U.S. Refused to Supply Seeds

Source: Canadian Press
Published: May 7, 2002
Copyright: 2002 The Canadian Press

Related Articles & Web Sites:

Prairie Plant Systems
http://www.prairieplant.com/

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

Medicinal-Marijuana Harvest on Hold
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12605.shtml

Seeds for Medical Marijuana Wrapped Up in Red Tape
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10136.shtml


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Comment #17 posted by Jose Melendez on May 09, 2002 at 06:46:00 PT:

good luck steve
Thanks idbsne1,

Good Luck Steve Tuck and friends, hope the Kubby's are OK...

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Comment #16 posted by idbsne1 on May 08, 2002 at 08:09:24 PT
Yes, Jose...Steve Tuck did.....
This smells fishy....

Although, there is the great quote about US officials being opposed to MJ research...Anne McLellan is acting strange...

Steven Tuck gave HC their seeds... plenty of them... AND this was even mentioned at his hearing...his seeds are top quality genetics that I firmly believe will start the ball rolling for standardizing the medicine....he is an amazing botanist/grower....

I feel that Anne McLellan is BSing...she doen't want to start the program, and decided to blame the US...I'm sure the US worked with her and said...."sure...if you scrap your MMj program, or at least slow it down....you can BLAME US....".....that way HC is in the clear, and noone has the balls to mess with the US....

This is BS... if they "didn't have aquality supply of genetics"... then why did you start? Because it is BS... it has NOTHING to do with the genetics....now she's saying, oh we need YEARS of research before we approve this..(ala FDA style)...

I WISH that this response was as noble as some are taking it, but this smelly funny....something is not right....

I hope Canadians finally use this as a reason to sever their relationship with US policy....I can dream can't I?....

idbsne1

PS...BTW Steven Tuck's court date is TOMORROW!! THERE it will be decided whether they will grant him refugee status (highly unlikely), give him 30 days to leave (we really hope for this), or he will be escorted to US Marshalls to be taken to Humboldt County Jail, where the old Sheriff and DA will jail him without his meds and have been quoted as saying that Steve will die in jail....

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #15 posted by TroutMask on May 08, 2002 at 06:40:22 PT
Hot Summer
Yes, this summer will be "hot". UK is expected to decrease penalties and there is action in both the Canadian Supreme Court and the Canadian Senate to decrim marijuana. I love summer, but I'd almost like to fast-forward to Fall...

-TM

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #14 posted by dddd on May 08, 2002 at 05:51:05 PT
Kapstrodomus
...I remember a couple of years back,when you predicted a hot summer,,,and you said something about getting out the lawn chairs,and observing the heat....and if I remember correctly,,you were right,,it was rather hot that summer...But I have no doubt,that your prediction for this summer will come to pass..it's gonna be a sizzler.. It's somewhat of a safe prediction though.... Nostroddddmus predicts heavy weather this fall,,and a stone cold icy winter will follow!........In fact,,,there will be no shortage of awesome and dazzling events from now until the end of the world!...........

.......you're the BEST Kap!.....dont change....................dddd


[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #13 posted by Ethan Russo MD on May 08, 2002 at 05:45:52 PT:

Smoking Gun/Reefer Revealed
I basically figured it went down like this. Canada was attempting to follow the dictates of the Single Convention Treaty that permit exchange of cannabis products only through government monopolies. Currently, there is NIDA, Health Canada, and the Office of Medicinal Cannabis in Holland. The latter has offered to share materials with any interested government (see interview with Willem Scholten and Myra Klee in Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics 2(2), just out.)

As I have been saying for 5 years, one of NIDA's main missions is to obstruct clinical cannabis research. This is merely one additional example.

It is ironic that NIDA's material would be so sought after considering its 3rd rank quality. Please see text, and photo on page 50 of the Chronic Use Study:

http://www.montananorml.org/docs/ChronicCannabisUseStudy.pdf

Considering current international treaties, it is unclear to me why HC would use confiscated seeds (a genetic crapshoot) as opposed to taking Mark Emery up on his offer, or merely making the tour in BC and obtaining clones from some of the expert growers in that province. I know that Hilary Black is meticulous in the quality control behind the product she provides to patients. She is a candidate for sainthood, in my opinion (see artistic rendering: http://www.cannabisculture.com/backissues/issue.cgi?num=34 )

There are good people in Flin Flon, doing their level best to fulfill their mission. Now their harvest is simply sitting there. I hope that HC is not taking a storage lesson from NIDA. Irvin Rosenfeld, one of the legal IND patients, received in 2001 a cannister of NIDA marijuana cigarettes that was processed in 1991. If that is not malicious intent, it is hard to figure what is. The incredible thing is that he still benefits from the stale and weak product. You can't keep a good weed down!

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #12 posted by Jose Melendez on May 08, 2002 at 05:38:38 PT
quotes
from:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n879/a13.html?397

"Were the government to prescribe to us our medicine and diet, our bodies would be in such keeping as our souls are now. Thus in France the emetic was once forbidden as a medicine, and the potato as an article of food. Government is just as infallible,[sic] too, when it fixes systems in physics. Galileo was sent to the Inquisition for affirming that the earth was a sphere.... It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself." Thomas Jefferson.

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Comment #11 posted by kaptinemo on May 08, 2002 at 05:19:23 PT:

A political bombshell is ticking away...
...one that the Canadian Alliance, if they are smart, can work to their advantage.

Look at this sentence again:

But it emerged Tuesday at a committee meeting that U.S. authorities refused last year to supply Canada with reliable, tested seeds. The U.S. decision wasn't announced at the time, nor was it mentioned by Rock. That left Health Canada to use seeds police had confiscated, which have produced a crop containing at least 185 different varieties of pot, from dynamite to dud quality.

Children, can you say: "malfeasence"? How about: "rank incompetence"? Too many syllables? How about this: "stupid!"?

Several name growers like Marc Emery offered Health Canada all the seeds it could use. They were turned down. Why? Because the seeds of the weed grown by U of Miss for NIDA are 'known' quantities'; they have definite trackable qualities and have been used for well over 30 plus years. Their geentics are well identified.

Never mind the fact that US government weed provided to the remaining Compassionate Use patients is bunk and almost any grower can raise something of astronimically better quality. Producing the highest (no pun intended; I am deadly serious, here) quality weed paid for by the Canadian taxpayers to provide to Canadian citizens in need should have been the primary concern of Health Canada, right? You'd think so, wouldn't you?

But doing so doesn't seem to be on the agenda of the Chretien Regime. Whether it's because of budgetary restrictions or just plain cussed obstructionism Health Canada chooses to kow-tow to the US NIDA/DEA crime ring. Which doesn't want cannabis to be proved to have any medical uses, anywhere.

And the Canadian officials admit this, up front:

"They had the only legal source of supply of marijuana but they needed clearance from the Drug Enforcement Agency and it didn't come." said Michols. He said he didn't know why access was refused, but conceded there are people in the U.S. government opposed to research on marijuana's benefits. (Emphasis mine -k.)

As I said in the beginning, this is a bombshell waiting to explode: Canadian officials admitting that the US agencies involved have definite 'conflicts of interest' when it comes to this matter...and Canadian domestic policy is in effect being dictated from Washington. As I said in one post before, Canucks might as well fold up those pretty red and white flags and buy a "stars and stipes" to stick on their lawns. The result is the same...

I know lots of Canadian nationals who are hopping mad about the screwup with the Health Canada MMJ fiasco already; this is bound to be like pouring petrol on a fire.

Summer isn't here yet, but already I predict another 'scorcher'.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #10 posted by Jose Melendez on May 08, 2002 at 05:07:59 PT:

where's herbdoc215?
Didn't Steve Tuck provide Health Canada with 60,000 seeds? How are the two free Steves?

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #9 posted by qqqq on May 08, 2002 at 03:46:45 PT
...One More....
...the old,"couldnt get the proper seeds" excuse.


"how come you didnt take a shit today?"
"...I couldnt find my butt."


[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #8 posted by qqqq on May 08, 2002 at 03:42:20 PT
..A typical FREEKIN' SHAM...
...."how come you didnt dig that hole today?"

"I couldnt get the right type of shovel."

."How come the US defense department cannot account for BILLIONS of dollars in spending for the last six years?"
"Well,,the GAO is looking into the situation.,and the Defense department is investigating the matter.It seems that Arthur Anderson was keeping the books for the military,,and they may have mistakenly shredded some vital documents..Colon Powell has tried to call Arthur Anderson a bunch of time,but all he gets is the answering machine."


"How come so many people like George Bush,and his approval ratings in the polls remain so high?"

"..well that's an easy one to answer..It's because he is so honest,,truthful,and intelligent...Even people who didnt vote for him,have been taken in by his down home country boy integrity,,and his leadership in hunting down all evildoers and terrorists.All people love it when a noble leader like George Bush becomes their selected ruler of choice."


[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #7 posted by bruce42 on May 07, 2002 at 21:16:16 PT
no seeds?
Of course Canada has quality seed and H.C. knows it. They just wanted access to a handily organized supply so they could browse at their leisure (they say). I think that may have been the original idea, but I think that after initial meetings with the DEA they knew they we're going to get the goods. So, they turned the fiasco into an opportunity to promote mmj by showing how terrible and bad prohibition is. Just see how this story is set up. First we got the problem: the sick and dying are suffering--

"The story about what went wrong in the medical pot program emerged Tuesday for the first time, as Health Minister Anne McLellan explained protracted delays in providing marijuana to eligible patients. The program was intended for people dying or suffer from specific painful conditions, both for research and for compassionate reasons.

Now we assign blame. Of course H.C. is shown to be the good guys, and the suffering of the sick and dying now lies squarely on the shoulders of the DEA--

"They had the only legal source of supply of marijuana but they needed clearance from the Drug Enforcement Agency and it didn't come." said Michols.

He said he didn't know why access was refused, but conceded there are people in the U.S. government opposed to research on marijuana's benefits."

"Michols said Prairie Plant Systems will have to sort through the seeds they have to find those with the right characteristics to establish a standardized supply. That could take months."

Persoanlly, I hate to see people being used as pawns to promote a political agenda, but at the same time... mmj is a good cause. I hate to be cold and mean, but dammit, we've got to fight fire with fire. i think that certain parts of the Canadian government are realizing this and are willing to beat the anti's at their own game.

After all is said and done though, I can just see the anti's swallowing feet up to their thighs when they try to explain away how they were A) keeping stocks of seed B) contributing to the suffering of our Canadian neighbors by denying said seed.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #6 posted by el_toonces on May 07, 2002 at 21:07:01 PT:

Why?
I really don't care why Health Canada wanted the seeds, even if just for comparison. The mere fact they asked the U.S. and reported being rebuffed exposes enough hypocrisy to satisfy me for now:).

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #5 posted by FoM on May 07, 2002 at 21:03:01 PT
Why from Our US Marijuana Farm anyway?
It didn't make sense to me that Canada wanted US seeds when they have Marc Emery right up there with them. He sure is well known! Why go to the US when people like Emery have spent their life finding good stock.

It's because we are the drug control bosses of the world and we won't give Canada money if they don't obey. We dangle money in front of every country to get them to turn a blind eye from what is the right thing to do. That's my 2 cents.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #4 posted by E_Johnson on May 07, 2002 at 20:49:46 PT
Buy Canadian
So we're supposed to pretend that there are no research grade marijuana seeds in Canada?

This is all a surreal comedy. This is what happens when we dumb the whole society down to avoid confusing children about marijuana.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #3 posted by bruce42 on May 07, 2002 at 20:38:28 PT
hmmm...
I think Health Canada wants pot legalized and to do so is going to show Canadians everywhere how cold and heartless the Amerikan gov't can be. What beter way to end cannabis prohib in your own country than to show off the utter stupidity of your neighbors. I have a feeling that Health Canada new the answer that the DEA was going to give and have caught the DEA in quite a pickle... why does the DEA hold on to huge stashes of seed when they are supposedly trying to exterminate cannabis, and at the same time why do they constantly preach "we can't talk about mmj unless we have more research" while at the same time denying H.C. access to these mysterious seed banks for research purposes...

I bet H.C. is gonna make plenty of noise over this one for a while

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #2 posted by CorvallisEric on May 07, 2002 at 19:57:40 PT
Question
Why didn't or couldn't they get seeds from GW in England? Too many varieties like their current situation?

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #1 posted by el_toonces on May 07, 2002 at 19:31:23 PT:

Both sides of their mouths....
The U.S. government official line on medical marijuana is that "more research" needs to be done and the hazards of smoking it minimized or a standardized extract developed that can be compared to placebos or other therapies on a double blind basis. Government officials all claim to be for this, but when it comes to allowing another country to use some old seeds, it balks and this article states the obvious so well: "[Michols] said he didn't know why access was refused, but conceded there are people in the U.S. government opposed to research on marijuana's benefits." supra.

Now think about that -- what politician could survive going around saying he is for pain relief but wants to outlaw either the manufacture of synthetic opiates or the growing of poppies? People would think such a man reminiscent of Mr. Kimball on the old "Green Acres" program, who would make statements like, "Hi there, Mr. Douglas, as your county agricultural agent I'm here -- well, I am not here….". A person making such paradoxical assertions is wisely regarded as foolish or loopy, and our government officials need to be exposed in this manner. It's just hard to show that to folks when these officials are always hiding behind drug war propaganda, but good people are making progress.

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