Pubdate: Thu, 01 May 2003
Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2003, Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://www.fyiottawa.com/ottsun.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329
Author: Frank Landry

GOVERNMENT GANJA MINED IN FLIN FLON

WINNIPEG -- Psssst -- want some government-sanctioned bud? Health Canada 
officials believe for the first time they've harvested at least two batches 
of research-grade marijuana from deep within the country's only official 
pot mine, located in Flin Flon, about 650 km northwest of Winnipeg.

Final tests are being done on the cannabis before it's offered to 
scientists for clinical research trials.

"The reality is, a researcher in the near future will not only be able 
access the product from the United States, but they will be able to access 
a product made available by Health Canada," said Cindy Cripps-Prawak, 
director of the country's Office of Cannabis Medical Access.

Research Purposes

The marijuana grown in Flin Flon is strictly for research purposes.

Patients approved by Health Canada to smoke pot must grow their own or have 
someone else grow it for them, a position that led to a lawsuit launched 
last year by chronic pain sufferers who are demanding the federal 
government provide a safe, reliable and affordable supply.

Located in an old copper mine hundreds of metres below the Earth's surface, 
the Flin Flon pot mine has produced more than 244 kg of hydroponic 
marijuana since last year.

Most of the pot has not met strict research standards. But it's believed 
two batches of weed harvested in December 2002 and this past February meet 
"good manufacturing guidelines" -- a guarantee each plant is grown and 
processed under identical conditions to ensure consistency.

The plants are being tested for qualities such as potency and 
microbiological content, Cripps-Prawak said. So far, only two clinical 
trials on pot have been approved in Canada -- both using seeds brought in 
from the United States.

Health Canada has put a call out for scientists who want to conduct 
clinical trials using Canadian-grown cannabis.

Looking Forward

Dr. Mark Ware, a leading marijuana researcher in Montreal, said it doesn't 
really matter where the pot he uses comes from.

But he's looking forward to getting a crack at the Canadian supply.

"This is a Canadian project. It would be useful to think we could use 
Canadian product," said Ware, who will be leading a study this year at the 
McGill University looking at the potential benefits of smoking marijuana to 
relieve pain.

Marijuana's active agent, THC, has been found to relieve pain, nausea and 
muscle spasms.

Dr. Harold Kalant, a pharmacologist at the University of Toronto, said it 
may be difficult finding scientists who will want the pot. Researchers are 
staying away from using marijuana in clinical trials for health reasons, he 
said.

"Smoking cannabis is not a recommended way of administering the drug," 
Kalant said.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens