Pubdate: Tue, 02 Sep 2003 Source: Abilene Reporter-News (TX) Copyright: 2003 Abilene Reporter-News Contact: http://www.reporternews.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1106 Author: Anthony Deutsch Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) JOINT EFFORT: DUTCH PROVIDE AND REGULATE MEDICINAL MARIJUANA AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- Marijuana went on sale Monday at Dutch pharmacies to help bring relief to thousands of patients suffering from cancer, AIDS or multiple sclerosis. About 7,000 patients will be eligible for prescription marijuana, sold in containers of 0.16 ounces at most pharmacies. The drug will be covered by health insurance for the first time. Canada, Germany and Australia already allow restricted use of medicinal marijuana or its active chemical, but the Dutch go a step further by providing the drug and regulating its quality. In the United States, 14 states allow medicinal use despite a federal ban on the drug. Dutch patients will be recommended not to smoke the plant, but to use vaporizers or make marijuana tea. It will be prescribed to those with nausea or pain associated with cancer, Tourette's syndrome, AIDS or multiple sclerosis. Two varieties will offer a lower or higher content of the active chemical in marijuana. It will cost $48 for the milder variant, with a THC content of 15 percent, and $60 for an 18 percent version. Although marijuana is officially prohibited under Dutch law, authorities tolerate the sale of small quantities under a policy that distinguishes between hard drugs such as cocaine and heroine and so-called "soft-drugs" like marijuana. Marijuana growers and pharmacies will need licenses exempting them from prosecution. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk