Pubdate: Fri, 20 Jul 2001
Source: Parksville Qualicum Beach News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 Parksville Qualicum Beach News
Contact:  http://www.pqbnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1361
Author: Tom MacDougall
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada)

VIEWPOINT: JUST KEEP PASSING IT AROUND

The federal Ministry of Health's new legislation on the medical use 
of marijuana is an interesting study in contradictions.

On one hand, it supposedly makes it easier for Canadians suffering 
from chronic pain or debilitating illness to gain access to a drug 
that can potentially improve their quality of life. On the other, 
however, it fails to set out any guidelines as to where the average 
patient - who in all likelihood has no concept of how to grow B.C.'s 
most controversial export crop - can get a clean, consistent supply 
of the medication.

Nor does it necessarily make it easier to legally possess the wacky 
weed. Consider the process:

First, an applicant must supply their full name, date of birth and 
gender, as well as a complete address, along with an indication of 
whether the applicant intends to grow their own or buy from a 
licensed dealer.

Next, the applicant has to obtain a medical declaration, which 
includes the doctor's full name, address and telephone number. The 
medical declaration has to outline the applicant's medical condition, 
what category the condition falls under, the dosage of marijuana (in 
grams) recommended and how it is to be "administered". Further, it 
has to assure all other drugs have been tried or considered.

You follow that up with photo ID with picture restrictions 
reminiscent of passport photos (at least 43x54 mm but not more than 
50x70 mm and shot against a plain contrasting background. It then has 
to be certified by the medical practitioner treating the applicant as 
an accurate representation of the patient.

There's also a little math that needs to be done to determine the 
monthly allotment of marijuana any patient can have at any given 
time. And oh, by the way, if your application is approved, your 
licence expires in a year and you have to provide a majority of the 
information again. It would be easier to get a rolling prescription 
for morphine. Small wonder people like Mark Russell are starting 
buyers' clubs.

The jury is out on the medical benefits of marijuana. Formal 
scientific studies seem to be few and far between, and those that are 
out there provide results the government says are generally 
inconclusive. Anecdotal support is strong and easy to come by, but 
the scientific community is loath to accept what it views as 
non-empirical data.

The government holds that lack of scientific data out as the reason 
the new legislation is so restrictive. They need time to study 
marijuana and its medicinal effects further, they say; to gather 
further input from the medical community. But the lack on conclusive 
evidence hasn't stopped doctors from talking about the positive 
health effects of a glass of red wine.

The truth is likely less about science and more about politics. 
Marijuana and the war on drugs are political hot potatoes. No one 
wants to make a firm decision. But that's what government is supposed 
to do. Not in this case. Government, instead of discussions of 
health, has opted for political policies.
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MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe