Pubdate: Mon, 30 Sep 2002 Source: Globe and Mail (Canada) Copyright: 2002, The Globe and Mail Company Contact: http://www.globeandmail.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168 Author: Robert Matas POT FACTORY TO BE FIRST IN CANADA, GROUP SAYS VANCOUVER -- A defiant group of British Columbians is to announce later today the official opening of what they call Canada's first marijuana factory, posing a direct and highly visible challenge to federal marijuana laws. The facility on a street of rundown homes in a Vancouver suburb is set up to process a crop of 110 marijuana plants, from cuttings or seeds, into moist dark pellets that dissolve easily in olive oil or butter. The pellets, which contain concentrated doses of marijuana's psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol, are called THC balls. With consistent production standards, the producers say the process will offer marijuana users the option of ingesting the drug in a bowl of soup, biscuits, cakes and a wide variety of other foods. The federal government has sent out mixed signals about medicinal marijuana. Former health minister Allan Rock set up a system to distribute marijuana for medicinal purposes to hundreds of people but his successor Anne McLellan put brakes on the program. For those not covered by the program, possession, cultivation and distribution of marijuana remains illegal. Canada spends between $300-million and $500-million annually on enforcement of the marijuana laws. Michael Maniotis, spokesman for the group that is running the facility, said yesterday the factory is run under licences issued by Health Canada that exempt from marijuana laws those who are terminally ill. The THC balls produced at the factory will be given to three licence holders at no cost. However, he declined to comment on the legality of the group's plans to distribute THC balls to physicians, researchers or others who may not have Health Canada licences for medicinal marijuana. "The answer will be in the attitude of the federal government," he said as colleagues were arranging marijuana plants for display during the official opening. "Is the government ready to chase down doctors who want to prescribe [marijuana] to their cancer patients?" he said. The production line has been set up to show the federal government what is possible, he added. "I hope we can eventually get a contract from Health Canada to provide this [the THC balls] to millions of ailing Canadians," Mr. Maniotis said. Health Canada spokesman Andrew Swift said the federal government has issued 817 licences to Canadians to possess marijuana for medical purposes and 214 licences to allow production of marijuana for medical purposes. Health Canada has also designated 17 people to grow marijuana for a person licensed to use it, he said in an interview from Ottawa. An officer who answered the phone at the police station said no one was available yesterday to comment on the factory. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D