cannabisnews.com: Seeds for Medical Marijuana Wrapped Up in Red Tape Seeds for Medical Marijuana Wrapped Up in Red Tape Posted by FoM on June 23, 2001 at 14:07:44 PT By CBC News Online Staff Source: CBC News The Saskatoon firm with the contract to grow medicinal marijuana for Canadians with a variety of medical conditions is behind schedule because of a series of diplomatic tangles at the U.S. border. Prairie Plant Systems is supposed to provide 185 kilograms of dried marijuana for clinical trials in December, but the seeds they need to grow the plants are now two weeks overdue. "Getting access to illicit plant material has been far more challenging than what Health Canada or ourselves had expected," Prairie Plant System's Brent Zettl said. That's because Washington is reluctant to allow a U.S. research laboratory to export the seeds to Canada, where the plants would be grown in a legally-sanctioned marijuana farm inside an old Manitoba mine. Health Canada said it wasn't sure what had caused the delay, but that completing more paperwork would solve the problem. Alan Young, a law professor at Osgoode Hall in Toronto, said that Health Canada was to blame for permitting the use of medicinal marijuana without providing a legal source. "They haven't set up a meaningful infrastructure to allow sick people to take medicine in a safe and secure manner," Young said. Zettl said that if the red tape is untangled within the next few weeks, his company may be able to speed up their production enough to make the December deadline. Written By CBC News Online Staff Source: CBC NewsPublished: June 22, 2001Copyright © 2001 CBCWebsite: http://cbc.ca/Related Articles & Web Sites:Prairie Plant Systemshttp://www.prairieplant.com/ Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmSearching For a Pot of Gold On Prairies http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9795.shtmlPrairies Go To Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8092.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Prairie Planthttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=prairie+plant Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #13 posted by FoM on June 25, 2001 at 09:08:02 PT Government Having Problems Getting Marijuana Seeds Canada: Transcript: Government Having Problems Getting Marijuana SeedsSource: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Canada)Anchor: Alison SmithReporter: Jo Lynne SheaneShow: The NationalPublished: Friday June 22, 2001Copyright: 2001 Canadian Broadcasting CorporationContact: cbcinput toronto.cbc.caWebsite: http://www.cbc.ca/ALISON SMITH: There are problems tonight with Ottawa's plan to secure reliable source of medical marijuana. It has a company lined up to do the growing, but, so far, it hasn't been able to find anyone to supply the seeds. As Jo Lynn Sheane reports, critics are calling it a fiasco. JO LYNNE SHEANE ( Reporter ): Throughout winter, and out of the public eye, workers scrambled deep inside this abandoned mine preparing it to become Canada's first government-sanctioned marijuana growing operation. A legal supply for sick people who need marijuana to dull their pain. All that urgency and now Prairie Plant Systems, the company with the Health Canada contract, can do nothing but wait. The seeds to grow the marijuana were supposed to be delivered to the Saskatoon company two weeks ago. The problem? The federal government has run into a series of diplomatic roadblocks trying to import marijuana into Canada legally. Click the link to read the full transcripts.http://mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1126/a11.html Canadian Links [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by Steven Tuck on June 24, 2001 at 22:34:16 PT: seeds Our company Humboldt Research Institute just offered to jumpstart their whole program for them free of charge. I can even mail them tissue culture clones of all our strains free of legal hasstle because they are mailed in the callous stage and contain no THC at that point and like mushroom spores they must first be processed to be illegal, in this case it would be applying the supplied hormones to de-diferentiate roots and then a shoot at that point it would be a clone and illegal to re-mail. I applied to a patent lawyer last year for rights to the propriatary formula we use last year and was raided for the first time in 4 years of doing research in Humboldt county. We also have >400 strains of cannabis that we have scientific data on(gels,MS-GC,hormonal growth regulators,varying ploidism,etc. I am willing to donate all to them in order for this to get off the ground. Now there is no excuse for the patients to get their meds and this research continue. At the rate of brainwashing being done by the media in DEAland now I may be a Canadian before long anyway and I ain't gonna smoke no NIDA crap if I can help it!Steven Tuck,MS CEO HRI [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by lookinside on June 24, 2001 at 13:06:51 PT: i hava hunch... that there is red tape involved as well as a wish to getvery consistent strain(s) for testing...anonymous seeddonations, on the surface sound great to me, and when i cangrow again, i'm gonna email a few of you...my seedcollection was destroyed(18 years of selection andcrossbreeding gone!)... but by the nature of their efforts,the first trials must be as well documented as possible...asthey progress, i imagine that test plots of ALL of B.C.'sbest will be incorporated into their research... as i understand it, marc's operation is quasi legal, andnot a place that can be accessed legally by a govt.contractor...mississippi may be the ONLY documentable,genetically reliable(i'm not saying the BEST) source on theplanet...red tape, but understandable from a bureaucraticviewpoint... [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by r.earing on June 24, 2001 at 08:17:40 PT: I live two blocks away from PPS! And I'd have been happy to give them the seeds.Maybe I should anonymously donate? [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by SWAMPIE on June 23, 2001 at 23:02:39 PT LOOKINSIDE...LOL... As you wrote,I'm not from Mississippi,but don't you think that ANYONE who supports the cause;who has access to the finest med-grade stock wouldn't be willing to share to get the ball rolling?If I had the ability,and the stock,(which I don't,other than domestic Ohio),I would personally send it to them,for free,no address,no questions,with a sample to test to make sure it was of the variety they need.Amsterdam and all the others could too,if this is deemed as a worthy cause!I know that time is of the essence for them,and just want to help!How about sone White-Widow,or Nl5-Skunk?There is a whole world of very potent strains out there,and they don't have to grow U.S.Gov't junk!!!Look at what you get from this gov't on anything else!It is all bottom-line,because all the number-crunchers won't let anyone get anything as good as the "social-class" to which their wives' all belong!See you at the next "FREAKERS'BALL"! SWAMPIE [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by lookinside on June 23, 2001 at 22:18:07 PT: lol..SWAMPIE i wrote that company right after it was anounced that theywere awarded the contract and suggested some seed strains aswell as mr. emery's site... from what i understand, the mississippi swamp weed ain'thalf bad, but who can top the concentrated efforts of theB.C. growers?...nobody, right now...that company has a hard row to hoe...185kgs. is 408 POUNDSis 6525 ounces...if they can average 3 oz per plant in theirunderground grow rooms, they will be fortunate with onlyabout 150 days left to harvest...they will have to sex theplants unless they are fortunate enough to get all femaleseeds, which ain't gonna happen...that means that they needto start at least 4000 plants to get the quantity they'vecontracted for...i wish them luck... [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by SWAMPIE on June 23, 2001 at 21:07:24 PT SEEDS OF PASSION...... I have alot of seeds that i've been saving,perhaps I could make a donation???How many of you out there would help the cause??? Onward through the fog!! SWAMPIE [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by puff_tuff on June 23, 2001 at 18:28:31 PT A feeble attempt Apparently they never even hired any experienced marijuana growers. Mind you half of them wouldn't even qualify, because the "RULES" state that no-one with a record could work there! If they were serious about this, they would have the top genetics and top growers working in there. It's supposed to be about good medicine for sick people not some American supplied, two-bit, guinea pig trial.In my opinion, the Government has chosen to get inferior value for there dollar. The exemptees should sue the Government, or at the very least, come July 31, the Ontario Court should see this for what it is...a poor, feeble attempt to do something that is relatively simple...they should proceed with striking down the marijuana laws!The government has not lived up to the order!Where the hell is the MEDICINE for the sick and dieing?They don't even have friggin seeds yet!It's outrageous!!The government had many options, had they chosen other proposals they would have medicine by now. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Anonymous on June 23, 2001 at 18:05:47 PT This is good news... That's right, I said good news. The longer Health Canada prevaricates and delays, the sooner the full on legalization of cultivation will take place. Once the Court, which has already struck down Canada's marijuana laws, but gave the government a year to amend the laws for medicinal use, realizes that the government is screwing around, it will fully strike down the law NOW. Add to that the jury's refusal to convict Grant Krieger on cultivation charges, and the writing (END OF CANADIAN MARIJUANA PROHIBITION) is on the wall. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 23, 2001 at 16:48:22 PT Another Question This is really weird to me. Why wouldn't they buy seed from their own countries people who are experienced in that area? Why want US Mississippi Farm seeds? They're heart isn't into growing like the people of Canada's hearts are. If I was a botanist specialist like Prairie Plant System I don't know how I could go with anything less then the top of the line which is Canada not Mississippi. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Narcoleptic on June 23, 2001 at 16:13:05 PT Sounds like an idea to me. . . Even if Marc was too distasteful for Canadian authorities there are plenty of seedbanks in Canada, all of which would supply better seeds than the U.S. Government. If the Canadian government doesn't want to be seen giving money to "hippies" just buy some and say there were genetically engineered by government scientists. No paperwork, and the medical MJ patients will be happy to get some strong weed. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 23, 2001 at 15:55:18 PT Good Question That's a really good question Gary. Someone who is well known like Emery that is in the business and has a good reputation would make more sense then trying to get seeds from our country knowing how they have the power to stall this long enough that they won't be able to meet their deadline in December. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Frank S. World on June 23, 2001 at 15:37:42 PT Why not... Why not just get the seeds from Marc Emery instead of a DEAland research lab? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment