cannabisnews.com: Allan Rock To Tour Manitoba Marijuana Mine Allan Rock To Tour Manitoba Marijuana Mine Posted by FoM on July 29, 2001 at 13:48:25 PT By John Cotter, Canadian Press Source: National Post Riddle me this. What lives down a deep mineshaft beneath the cold waters of a northern Manitoba lake, is bigger than three football fields and is under tighter security than the Ebola virus yet produces something you can buy on any street corner in Canada?It's the first federal marijuana growing operation, which Health Minister Allan Rock will inspect in Flin Flon, Man., this week. The Cannabis Medical Access Project was set up to produce a supply of pot under Ottawa's controversial medicinal marijuana policy. If all goes well, specially trained technicians will begin harvesting 185 kilograms of the underground weed starting next month, said Health Canada spokeswoman Cindy Cripps-Prawak from Ottawa.By next February, selected patients suffering illnesses such as AIDS should be able to light up federally tested pre-rolled joints to ease their pain.Those who eschew smoking will be given loose marijuana."Some medical marijuana users wish to use it for tea or cook it into some food product," she said."Not everyone wants to smoke."However, most of the initial batch will be used for research.So far, 292 people have been approved to receive federal pot. More than 500 other applications are being processed and more applications are expected, she said.Security at the grow operation is right out of a James Bond movie.Visitors must wear special clothes and pass security checkpoints before they can take the 25-minute plunge in a special transport vehicle through 1,000 metres of granite into the bowels of the mine located under Trout Lake.The federal government has given the Flin Flon operation a level 7 security classification. That is three grades higher than the federal lab in Winnipeg that handles lethal diseases such as the Ebola virus.Pot proponents such as Steven Wishnia, senior editor of High Times Magazine, chuckled at the security precautions. They show that marijuana really does make some people paranoid, he joked."That is absolutely absurd," he said in an interview from New York City."If you smoke pot, your blood vessels aren't going to burst (a symptom of Ebola). You are not going to bleed to death internally."Canadian pot crusader Grant Krieger also scoffed at security at the mine, especially in light of the medicinal strength of the pot it will produce.The federal government hopes to produce marijuana with an active THC content of five to six per cent. Krieger said most Canadians can buy much stronger pot in their own communities."No one is going to break into the mine for a six per cent plant," he said from Calgary. "Just about anyone you bump into in the street sells pot with a strength of about 15 to 18 per cent, maybe higher."THC is short for tetrahydrocannabinol, which measures the potency of the drug.Brent Zettl, president of Prairie Plant Systems, the company that operates the grow operation on behalf of Ottawa, acknowledged security is a little over the top.His employees try to keep things light by cracking jokes about the underground mine and remembering their roots.The company won the five-year, $5.75 million pot contract based partly on its successful experience growing Saskatoon berry trees and roses."We call it the rock garden," Zettl chuckled. "We are going to put a sign over the door."Other people in the community, located 600 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, are also laughing - all the way to the bank.Chris Pilz, owner of a novelty store called the Zig Zag Zone, wants to make sure Flin Flon is known for much more than the birthplace of NHL great Bob Clark, trout fishing and mosquitoes.He has already sold more than 6,000 t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan Flin Flon - Marijuana Growing Capital of Canada."Business is booming," he said. "We are very happy."Complete Title: Federal Health Minister Allan Rock To Tour Manitoba Marijuana MineSource: National Post (Canada) Author: John Cotter, Canadian PressPublished: July 29, 2001Copyright: 2001 Southam Inc. Contact: letters nationalpost.com Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/ Related Articles & Web Sites:Prairie Plant Systemshttp://www.prairieplant.com/ Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmMining The Depths For Dope http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10434.shtmlSearching For a Pot of Gold On Prairieshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9795.shtml END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by Paranoid Ghost on June 21, 2002 at 18:58:46 PT Flin flon a flip flop Flin flon pot project was a flip flop.When is the government going to realize that in order to grow "good" pot, one needs experienced POT growers on the job?I don't think the government wanted the project to work. I know the Canadian Medical Association was hopeing it would fail. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on July 29, 2001 at 14:33:36 PT Youre Welcome lookinside Hi lookinside,I like the one where they are wheeling pot out of the mine in a cart! Glad you liked it and have a place you can wear it. I wear my Drug Sense T Shirt often. Keeps me in a work mode! LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by lookinside on July 29, 2001 at 14:29:40 PT: thanks, FoM... tried calling the store...i guess they are closed onsunday...they don't have online purchasing apparently...i'lltry again tomorrow...appropriate wear when visiting our daughter in berkeley... [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 29, 2001 at 14:14:52 PT About T-Shirts Hi EveryoneI want to get a couple t-shirts so I found the link in case others want one too.http://www.flinflon.net/zigzagzone/Picture of T-Shirtshttp://www.flinflon.net/zigzagzone/ffshirt_logo.jpghttp://www.flinflon.net/zigzagzone/2ndshirtlogo.jpg [ Post Comment ] Post Comment