Pubdate: Sun, 01 Oct 2000
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2000, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  333 King St. E., Toronto, Ontario M5A 3X5 Canada
Fax: (416) 947-3228
Website: http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoSun/
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Author: Philip Lee-Shanok

MEDICAL POT CROP A FIRST

Man Vows To Keep Fighting For Legalization

Jim Wakeford surveys his pampered marijuana plants and smiles.  "This one 
I'm going to be submitting to Cannabis Culture magazine for Bud of the 
Month," he said yesterday, pointing proudly to one of his plants.

The first Canadian ever granted legal exemption to grow pot for medicinal 
use, Wakeford, who has AIDS, has begun reaping the fruits of his 
summer-long labour on the balconies of his Church St. apartment. Once cut, 
the leafy stalks are hung upside down to dry. He brought the donated 
seedlings from British Columbia in a cooler placed in the overhead 
compartment of a commercial flight this summer.

Although he's proud of his 19 "girls," in some ways it's a bitter harvest.

"I'm a sick man. I've only been able to do this with the help of many 
people," Wakeford said. The pot helps him combat nausea and loss of 
appetite caused by his AIDS drugs.

But Wakeford said despite his court victories and letters of exemption from 
the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the federal government isn't doing 
enough for those who need a safe, steady and affordable supply of medicinal 
marijuana.

"What I've achieved in court is a right without remedy. I have the right to 
use marijuana for medical purposes, but I can't legally get it anywhere. It 
must be legalized, not just decriminalized," he said. Federal Health 
Minister Alan Rock announced changes would be made to allow pot to be 
produced for medicinal use -- at first for clinical trials only.

But Wakeford said the government isn't moving fast enough for him and about 
70 exemptees.

"I'm a dying man. I don't have time for clinical trials," he said. He and 
his lawyer will argue the case in a provincial appeal court this month.
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