cannabisnews.com: Police Slam Grass Price Police Slam Grass Price Posted by CN Staff on July 10, 2003 at 11:45:26 PT By Maria McClintock, Ottawa Bureau Source: Calgary Sun Ottawa -- The federal government is in the medicinal marijuana business and the pot is going for the bargain basement price of $5 gram -- $10 cheaper than it goes for on the street. It's a deal police say will open the door to abuse by criminals -- a claim medicinal users say is bunk. Health Canada insisted yesterday it wasn't trying to be competitive with the black market. "What we did try to do is establish a price which is reasonable, based on costs associated with the production and implementation of the program," Health Canada spokeswoman Cindy Cripps-Prawak said. Ottawa said its program was only temporary and it will provide pot for medicinal use for those who can't grow the weed, as well as selling bags of 30 seeds for $20, until the outcome of its appeal of an Ontario court decision. Staff Sgt. Marc Pinault, head of the RCMP's marijuana grow operations section, said the cheap federal price is opening the door for abuse. "Are there people who are going to try and get around the rules in order to take advantage of that price? Yes, there are people who are going to try and do that," Pinault said. And he said Health Canada is putting people at risk by refusing to give police a list of the 413 people Ottawa has authorized to grow pot. Police have failed in their attempts to convince the federal government that providing the names and addresses of the people it has issued pot growing licences could prevent injuries during dangerous drug raids, Pinault added. But, 70% of the 413 licensed pot growers have voluntarily said their names and addresses could be made public -- and Cripps-Prawak said there have been discussions with the RCMP about the feasibility of putting such information on the national police data base, CPIC, with restrictions. An Ontario court ruled Ottawa had until yesterday to come up with regulations for distributing medical marijuana. Cripps-Prawak said the federal government is proceeding with its appeal of the Ontario ruling, which said it was unfair that medicinal users had to turn to drug dealers for their stash, despite being authorized to use it for health reasons. The federal pot is coming from a lab in Flin Flon, Man. Health Minister Anne McLellan said she's leery about the government being a supplier. "There have been no studies anywhere in the world that have been able to confirm medicinal benefit," she said in Edmonton. 'We're not convinced in terms of the medicinal benefits which is why we are supporting clinical trials." Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)Author: Maria McClintock, Ottawa BureauPublished: Thursday, July 10, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Calgary SunContact: callet sunpub.comWebsite: http://www.fyicalgary.com/calsun.shtmlRelated Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmPolice Want List of Growershttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16817.shtmlMedicinal Pot Centre Planned in Ottawa http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16816.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by Cyril on July 10, 2003 at 13:34:26 PT: Sick of the word "studies" "There have been no studies anywhere in the world that have been able to confirm medicinal benefit," she said in Edmonton.Show me one that makes pot any more dangerous than smoking a pack of cigarettes, going to the bar and drinking, and then driving home. Something millions do every night [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Sam Adams on July 10, 2003 at 13:31:04 PT McClellan "There have been no studies anywhere in the world that have been able to confirm medicinal benefit," she said in Edmonton. "Anyone here remember the ska/punk band Fishbone? They wrote a song that fits this woman perfectly: "Lyin' Ass B*tch".Sorry, I couldn't hold that one back. Another disturbing parallel: she has the same last name as the (in)famous civil war general, whose bumbling incompetence and cowardice almost led the Union to an early defeat. Remind you of anyone in Canada? [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Virgil on July 10, 2003 at 12:39:48 PT 1 Canadian Dollar will buy 72 American pennies http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/currencies/fxc.html That $5 a gram they are talking about is Canadian and only $3.61 cents in American money or very close to $100 an ounce American. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on July 10, 2003 at 12:21:38 PT Political Cartoon http://www.canoe.ca/OttawaSun/dewar.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 10, 2003 at 12:18:17 PT Global Video: Whose Pot is Better? Whose Pot is Better?Wednesday, July 09, 2003 -- Dude, can you hook me up with a dime bag? We've taken a little liberty with the language, but for years that's the question medical marijuana users have been asking Ottawa. Tonight, the answer is finally: Yes. Years after the feds greenlighted the use of pot as medicine, they agreed today to deal it directly. Until now even with a permit, patients had buy it on the black market. Now we hate to be a buzz-kill, but as Jacques Bourbeau tells us, many aren't as stoked as you might imagineVideo Link: http://mirror.canada.com/toronto/globaltv/info/video/090703gn_story.ram [ Post Comment ] Post Comment