cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Regulation Draws Fire





Marijuana Regulation Draws Fire
Posted by FoM on July 31, 2001 at 20:42:31 PT
By Colin Freeze and Carolyn Abraham
Source: Globe and Mail
Canada has become the first country in the world to allow people in medical need to possess marijuana, but becoming a government-sanctioned pot-smoker will not be easy. First, you have to be very sick or close to dying. Second, you have to have doctors vouch that all other remedies to fight the pain have failed while only cannabis -- the herb Queen Victoria inhaled to relieve menstrual cramps -- makes a difference. Third, you have to find a reliable source. And until Health Canada's supply is harvested from a northern Manitoba mine shaft, the options are tricky.
The new regulation, which took effect yesterday, is drawing international attention as a daring move. Yet within the country, doctors complain that they will bear the brunt of deciding who should be allowed to use the drug while marijuana activists criticize a system that gives access only to society's sickest."We're really unhappy. This is the first place in the world where this is being allowed to happen and we're the ones that have to take the responsibility for it," said Peter Barrett, president of the Canadian Medical Association."We're being asked to be the gatekeepers for a product that hasn't gone through any rigorous testing."Health Canada officials, who were swamped with inquiries yesterday, said they realize they are in a "unique situation." But court decisions giving sick people the right to possess and use marijuana over the past four years have forced the government to take action. As a result, Health Canada says it is trying to make the drug available "on compassionate grounds."Until yesterday, anyone hoping to use marijuana for medical purposes had to apply for a special exemption from prosecution under the law. To date, about 300 people have received exemptions. Now those applicants fall under the new regulations.But marijuana activist Steve Van de Kemp says the new rules are a small step and that red tape will prevent too many sick people from legally using the drug. "Truthfully, the solution to this whole mess is they have to legalize marijuana," he said. Mr. Van de Kemp said that because of the new rules, he will have to reapply within six months for his exemption status that he first got last summer. Because he suffers from depression and anxiety, he needs the signatures of two specialists to make his pot-smoking legal.People with a terminal disease such as AIDS or cancer need the signature of only one doctor.Mr. Van de Kemp suspects he'll have trouble landing his two signatures since doctors worry about certifying marijuana use."You may as well get me a Super 7 ticket for Friday," he said.Dr. Barrett said most physicians are reluctant to participate in the government's medical-marijuana program.They worry about recommending an untested drug without knowing the full side effects, proper dosages or how it might interact with other drugs.He also predicted the new regulation will strain doctor and patient relationships: "Everyone who wants marijuana for recreational use will be on the doorstep and then we'll be the ones who have to say no."The Canadian Medical Association opposes issuing certificates for patients to smoke marijuana before Health Canada receives results from clinical trials in Toronto and Montreal that will evaluate marijuana's potential as a pain reliever.Patients are meanwhile left to navigate an underground system of connections to procure marijuana. Yesterday on Toronto's Queen Street West, for example, one pharmacist said he hadn't the faintest idea how to get pot. A walk-in clinic receptionist said the doctor was far too busy to entertain such questions.Only the owner of a nearby marijuana-paraphernalia store had a suggestion: Get in touch with your local "compassion club."Compassion clubs are networks that have long supplied cannabis to people in medical need at prices below street value. Mr. Van de Kemp, who heads the 50-member Ontario Compassion Club, said the organization also gets doctors' recommendations before it dispenses.But even the clubs must rely on illicit drug sources and until Health Canada's supply is ready for harvest, product from the street makes doctors nervous. As well, there is some concern that the photo identity cards patients receive in order to possess, and in some cases, grow their own marijuana, will become big hits with counterfeiters.Under the new regulations, medical marijuana users can grow their own supply, designate someone else to grow it for them, or wait until Health Canada has its product available.Applications for protection from prosecution under the new rules will be available from Health Canada through the Internet.In the meantime, patients will have to jump through the bureaucratic gaps between supply and demand.Note: Doctors unhappy over the lack of testing under new rules for medicinal use of pot.Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Colin Freeze and Carolyn AbrahamPublished: Tuesday, July 31, 2001 – Page A1 Copyright: 2001, The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.ca/Related Articles & Web Site:Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmNo Easy Pot Prescriptions: Local MDshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10481.shtmlPot Law a Bust - Critics http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10480.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Canadahttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=canada 
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Comment #1 posted by The Offspring on August 01, 2001 at 05:40:44 PT
Medical Weed
I am going to apply to grow and possess weed legally but I doubt I will get it. I smoke marijuana to help the pain in my right knee. The regulations are not good enough. How am I going to get 2 doctors signature when there is 1 doctor in my area.
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