Stephanie van den Berg

Februaey 7, 2005

With legal cannabis readily available, the Dutch government's program for issuing medical marijuana through pharmacies is losing money as stocks pile up because patients seem to prefer buying their stash at authorised cannabis cafés.

Even though cannabis use is decriminalised and marijuana is widely available in hundreds of cannabis cafés known as "coffeeshops", the Dutch government set up a program for medical marijuana in September 2001.

It cited studies showing that marijuana can be used to reduce nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, to reduce tension in glaucoma patients and to improve the appetite of people infected with HIV or suffering from Aids.

The idea was that patients would prefer a prescription from the pharmacy with a guaranteed strength and quality than take their chances in the commercial coffeeshops but it didn't work out that way.

After a year and a half of the groundbreaking program the Dutch Minister of Health Hans Hoogervorst calculated in December last year that the program generated a loss of almost €400 000 ($520 000) in 2004.

Of the estimated 10 000 to 15 000 patients who use cannabis for medical reasons, only 1000 and 1500 people have taken part in the medical cannabis program. The health ministry scaled down its expected yearly sales from between 200 and 400 kilos of marijuana to just 70kg.

The government will not yet term the program a failure but said it is being re-evaluated and a decision on how to proceed would be taken after the summer.

"It appears that doctors are not prescribing as much as we had estimated based on studies," Bas Kuik, spokesman for the government regulated Bureau of Medical Cannabis (BMC), said.

Price Is The Issue:

To James Burton, who was one of the two officially recognised growers of medical marijuana until the government ended its contract with him this year, it is clear what is holding back the program.

"Problem number one is the price. Medical marijuana is sold at some nine euros a gram while in a normal coffeeshop you can get a gram of cannabis at €4.50 to €5," Burton said.

"There is a market out there, just not at this price."

The American knows what he's talking about. As a glaucoma patient he uses marijuana to ease tension.

He was jailed in the US for growing the herb before he moved to the Netherlands in 1991.

"I thought I was in nirvana" because of the liberal Dutch policies on soft drugs, he said.

The use of cannabis has been decriminalised in the Netherlands since the 1970s and the sale allowed through authorised bars known as coffeeshops. Sales are limited to 5g a person and growing marijuana is forbidden.

One of the problems for patients related to the price of medical marijuana is that the Dutch national health service does not reimburse prescriptions and there are only a few private health insurers that do.

At the prices the government charges a 90 gram a month prescription like Burton has for his glaucoma costs over €800. This is simply too much for most patients.

Kuik insisted that the BMC does not make any money from the medical marijuana and explained the mark-up was necessary because of tax, research, sterilisation, packaging and logistics.

He pointed to a possible other reason for the unpopularity of the medical marijuana.

"The medical cannabis is made to be inhaled in a steam treatment or infused and drunk like tea and not for smoking. Maybe that is a disappointment for people expecting to smoke it but of course the ministry of health cannot encourage smoking," he said.

AFP

Copyright: 2005 iafrica.com

why with all the records that have been kept and the holy places that are still intact why oh why is there no mention of the hemp plant and how it was helping the people.

uh uh uh did you see the frighten ones.

The IDF will soon begin using cannabis to treat soldiers suffering from combat stress, the military said Wednesday.

An army statement said the military medical corps and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem would begin treating victims of post-traumatic stress - commonly known as shell shock - with THC, the active ingredient in the cannabis plant. It said the treatment would begin on an experimental basis.

"The use of THC as part of the treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder was approved by military and civilian committees relevant to the subject," the statement said.

An IDF spokesman said treatment would be given to both conscript soldiers and reservists.

Since September 2000, the Israeli military has been conducting day to day operations against the Palestinian terror infrastructure in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

During that time many soldiers have been treated for combat stress following service at military checkpoints and in military operations.

*Cites Racial Profiling: Chasing of Black Man 'Psychological Detention,' Court Says

MONTREAL - A lawyer who won a precedent-setting drug case on the grounds that her black client was a victim of racial profiling encouraged other Quebec defence lawyers yesterday to follow her lead.*