Pubdate: Wed, 28 May 2008
Source: Mississauga News (CN ON)
Copyright: The Mississauga News 2008
Contact:  http://www.mississauganews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/268
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n497/a02.html
Author: Russell Barth

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT

Dear Editor:

Re: 'Medical' pot smoker wins dispute with bar

As a Federal Medical Marijuana Licence Holder who's also married to 
one, I find it deeply disturbing to still see quotation marks on the 
word, medical, when talking about marijuana. The medical efficacy of 
cannabis is long-known, well-documented and easily found online.

Admittedly, the general public is still in the dark about the issues 
that face medical marijuana users, but when reporters or news editors 
put quotes on the word or phrase, it casts unnecessary doubts on 
something that's already proven valid. It suggests that, maybe, these 
medical pot smokers are still "getting away with something naughty," 
rather than trying to improve their health, which is the reality.

Also, I feel bad for both Gibson and Gator Ted, but what they should 
have done was got together and complained against the Ontario Liquor 
Board. They still could, in fact. It's Alcohol and Gaming Commission 
of Ontario regulations that failed to accommodate licenced medical 
users, thus forcing Gator Ted to do the only thing he could do.

The Ontario Liquor Licence Act states: "The licence holder shall not 
permit a person to hold, offer for sale, sell, distribute or consume 
a controlled substance as defined in the Controlled Drugs and 
Substances Act (Canada) on the premises or in the adjacent washrooms, 
liquor and food preparation areas and storage areas under the 
exclusive control of the licence holder."

If you want to get technical about it, licenced medical pot users are 
forbidden from entering any place with a liquor licence because they 
are, by their licence holding, either holding some pot, or they are 
"on" pot at any given time. The Act has not been amended to 
accommodate us, and can't be until Ottawa enacts the Medical 
Marijuana Access Regulations into actual law.

Confused? Try living with it.

Russell Barth

Federal Medical Marijuana Licence Holder

Nepean 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake