Pubdate: Fri, 14 Sep 2012
Source: Coquitlam Now, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012Lower Mainland Publishing Group, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.thenownews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1340
Author: John Kurucz

O'NEILL UPSET OVER POT LETTER

Councillor Not a Fan of Medical Marijuana

Some Coquitlam councillors may see the medical benefits around 
marijuana use, but don't count Terry O'Neill as one of them.

The first-term councillor disagreed with the wording of a letter sent 
by the city to the federal government that called on Health Canada to 
clarify and streamline rules around medical marijuana access regulations.

The point O'Neill took particular umbrage with was contained in the 
last paragraph of the letter, which stated that council "generally 
concluded there is a legitimate medical and societal benefit to be 
derived from controlled access to medical marijuana."

"It's hard for me to agree with the statement that there are societal 
and medical benefits to controlled usage - I just don't go that far," 
O'Neill said Thursday.

O'Neill pointed to two recent studies to further his point. A Duke 
University study suggested teens who use marijuana run the risk of a 
permanent drop in IQ. Another study that appeared in the medical 
journal Cancer linked marijuana use to testicular cancer.

"It's a very complex problem and I know it is. I don't know what the 
solution is," O'Neill said. "I'm just saying that I wasn't quite 
comfortable with the statement that was made in that letter."

Signed by Mayor Richard Stewart and written on behalf of all 
councillors, the letter was drafted in response to the issue of 
marijuana dispensaries in the city, and the legality of people 
growing and distributing marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Council ultimately banned unlicensed marijuana dispensaries in the 
city and passed regulations on the location of federally licensed grow-ops.

In an interview Thursday, Stewart said he could have worded the 
letter differently, and took a different view on the role of medical marijuana.

"I believe that there are many conditions that it can help in, that 
it has a net benefit for some conditions," he said.

"My read of the majority of our citizens is that they probably think 
there is a legitimate role in some circumstances for this."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom