Pubdate: Fri, 28 Jun 2013
Source: Victoria News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 Black Press
Contact: http://www.vicnews.com/contact_us/
Website: http://www.vicnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1267
Author: Daniel Palmer

MARIJUANA CLUB OPENS ITS BOOKS

New federal guidelines for medicinal users punish patients, says
longtime advocate

Victoria's medicinal marijuana dispensary is pulling back the curtain
on its operations to argue strict new federal rules won't meet the
needs of patients with cancer, AIDS and chronic pain problems.

The Cannabis Buyers Club of Canada chose to publish its operations
manual on the same day Health Canada released its revised medicinal
marijuana regulations last week.

The new regulations, which take effect April 1, 2014, will outlaw
homegrown marijuana which will in turn drive up costs and restrict
access to already-isolated patients, said Ted Smith, buyers club proprietor.

"We've been doing this for 17 years, and a lot of people have
questions about how we do things. So we wanted to be as transparent
and as helpful as possible," Smith said. "We're a non-profit society
providing a service to sick people."

The manual includes a list of documents describing how the plant
should be grown, inspected and made into a usable product, as well as
policies on how to sign-up new members, conduct security, clean and
handle marijuana.

"Part of what we want to show is there are reasonable means of
distributing this medicine that are more responsible than the one the
federal government has outlined," Smith said.

Under the new rules, medicinal users will only be able to purchase
dried marijuana from approved commercial producers. By outlawing
homegrown sources, many patients will soon need to rely on mail-order
delivery as well, Smith said.

"Whether you're smoking it or eating it or applying it topically,
there are so many ways you can use cannabis. It's unfair to assume
someone who has just been diagnosed with cancer can learn how to use
this medicine from a piece of paper or website and deal with
everything else going on at the same time," he said.

The Victoria-based club provides marijuana to medicinal users to
alleviate pain and discomfort. Users can smoke, vapourize, consume
baked goods or use topical oils and creams for limited medical
conditions that must be approved by a doctor.

Smith and his colleagues won a lengthy legal battle in 2012 that
allows them to produce cookies and other alternative marijuana
products in the dispensary.

The B.C. court of appeal is set to review that case Oct. 17, and Smith
hopes it eventually reaches the Supreme Court of Canada.

"As long as the government doesn't allow for extracts and people can't
buy cookies or massage oils off a commercial producer, there's a role
for dispensaries. Until that gaping hole is dealt with, we have a
necessary role to play."
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MAP posted-by: Matt