Pubdate: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Copyright: 2007 Times Colonist Contact: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n984/a08.html Author: Philippe Lucas COMPASSION CLUBS A BETTER ALTERNATIVE Re: "Health Canada pot worth every penny," letter, Aug. 23. Brent Zettl, the president of Prairie Plant Systems, claims compassion clubs charge $10 per gram for cannabis, while Health Canada only charges $5 for access to the 12 per cent-THC cannabis produced by his company. First of all, he's just plain wrong. Non-profit, community-based dispensaries like the Vancouver Island Compassion Society carry a wide selection of organically grown cannabis of 15 to 25 per cent THC that ranges from $5 to $10 per gram, as well as even more affordable alternatives to smoking that include baked goods, oils, tinctures, and even cutting-edge oromucosal sprays. What's available from Health Canada and PPS? A single-strain of gamma-irradiated, non-organic, pre-ground cannabis product, period. Mr. Zettl then states that he has "difficulty understanding is how the black market justifies a price of $10 per gram and still claims to be compassionate." If end-user costs are such a concern to Mr. Zettl, whose company has charged Canadians taxpayers around $10 million as a result of this ongoing federal production contract, perhaps he could explain why Health Canada marks up his product 1,500 per cent before sending it out to critically and chronically ill Canadians? By comparison, compassion clubs like the VICS are registered non-profit societies actually owned by the patients they serve, and last year this local organization gave away over $9,000 worth of cannabis to its lower-income members. The fact is that compassion clubs are working hard to increase safe access to medical cannabis for Canada's sick and suffering citizens. Philippe Lucas, Victoria. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake