Pubdate: Thu, 25 Jul 2013
Source: Georgia Straight, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 The Georgia Straight
Contact:  http://www.straight.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1084
Author: Charlie Smith

GROWING MEDICAL-MARIJUANA DISPENSARY INDUSTRY UNDER ATTACK

There's been a sharp rise in medical-marijuana dispensaries, but the
Conservative government plans to put them out of business.

THERE'S A CONSTANT flow of low-income people through the basement
lobby of the nonprofit Eden Medicinal Society at the corner of East
Pender and Main streets. After flashing compassion-club membership
cards at the receptionist, these Downtown Eastside residents wait
patiently before being buzzed through a locked door and into a
spotless medical-cannabis dispensary. There's not a whiff of marijuana
in the air.

According to a report by Eden's research coordinator and manager,
Adolfo Gonzalez, there are approximately 2,500 members, with 250 being
served each day. They have access to "a minimum of 40 strains of
cannabis"-as well as superfoods, herbal remedies, and natural
supplements-to help them cope with pain and other conditions.

"Right now, we've got the science behind us-not just the medical
science," Gonzalez tells the Georgia Straight during an interview in
his office behind the dispensary. "We've got the social science behind
us. We're reducing crime rates. We're reducing people consuming hard
drugs and reducing their addiction to over-the-counter drugs as well."

Dana Larsen, who manages the nonprofit Vancouver Dispensary Society,
tells the Straight that there are more than 20 of these establishments
in Vancouver. The first was the B.C. Compassion Club Society, which
opened its doors in 1997. The Vancouver Dispensary Society, which has
facilities near the corner of Thurlow and Davie streets and at 808
East Hastings Street, was created in 2008.

"After us, the floodgates opened, because we did it very publicly and
openly," Larsen says in an interview at the office of Sensible B.C.

He's on the boards of other dispensaries, and he rattles off a list of
illnesses that qualify people for medical marijuana, including AIDS,
cancer, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, various spasmodic
conditions, intestinal diseases such as Crohn's, psoriasis, eczema,
and sleep disorders.

However, this growing industry is under attack on a number of fronts.
In June, the N.I.C.E. Dispensary in New Westminster was raided by
police. And in 2011, the Mounties shut down a dispensary in Burnaby,
claiming that it was trafficking in marijuana. "We met with the mayor
and one of the city councillors beforehand," Larsen recalls. "They
were superenthusiastic. All the neighbours wrote letters and said how
good we were. The RCMP came in and raided us anyway. It was very arbitrar
y."

Meanwhile, the Conservative government has caused an uproar by
rewriting rules governing the medicinal use of pot. As of April 1,
2014, medical doctors and nurse practitioners will be the only ones
allowed to prescribe cannabis, taking naturopaths,
traditional-Chinese-medicine practitioners, and others out of the
process. Storefront or retail operations, including dispensaries, are
also not permitted under the new regulations, and according to
Gonzalez's report, there are no provisions for cannabis-based
products, such as tinctures, edible goods, and creams.
Personal-production licences expire at the end of March, which will
force users to buy from licensed large-scale commercial producers.

"People who are currently having access at $2 or $2.50 on the gram
when they're growing it, now are going to be paying $10, minimum,"
Gonzalez predicts. "In reality, when these corporate guys take
control, they're going to send things skyrocketing through the
ceiling. They're going to leave a considerable portion of the
population out in the cold."

The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act defines cannabis as a drug.
This means that anyone found guilty of possession is liable for up to
five years in prison. That's a major reason why the City of Vancouver
and other municipal governments won't offer business licences for
medical-marijuana dispensaries.

On the line from Barcelona, where he's attending a conference,
Vancouver councillor Kerry Jang tells the Straight that the city won't
interfere with anyone who follows established federal protocols.

"The practical approach for us is this: if you are selling marijuana
and you have a licence to do so from the federal government-and if
you're selling to folks with a card or a prescription-we're fine," he
says.

However, he mentions that he's also receiving "lots of calls" about
some medical-marijuana dispensaries. "I'm getting complaints from some
parents that street touts are actually saying, 'Come in, young kid. I
can get you a card and you can buy it legally,' " Jang reveals. "And
that's what's starting to get me a bit concerned. I've actually asked
our staff to look into a number of establishments where I've had some
reports directly from the local neighbours and parents on that."

He later adds: "We had closed down some we know that had been selling
to people without prescriptions=C2=85the VPD has investigated. They've sh
ut
down or moved on."

The Vancouver Police Department's drug policy acknowledges a need for
both harm reduction and treatment but makes no mention of marijuana
dispensaries. In February 2012, Cannabis Culture magazine reported
that Vancouver police had conducted their first raid on a
medical-marijuana dispensary-iMedikate on Renfrew Street-and two
people are scheduled to appear in provincial court later this year.
Linda Marlene Klokeid faces two counts of trafficking in a controlled
substance and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Her son, Mark Thomas Klokeid, is charged with possession for the
purpose of trafficking.

In June, the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries
launched a certification program to enhance public confidence. The
association also released a 66-page document with a lengthy list of
standards, which was created with the help of a Peter Wall Solutions
Initiative grant to UBC researchers. Jang says it would be helpful for
dispensaries to display any credentials.

Back at Eden, Gonzalez acknowledges that some dispensaries may be
little more than "weed shops". But he insists that his organization,
which is licensed by the federal government for now, conducts valuable
observational-research programs that can help save lives.

"For example, we're working with 'phoenix tears'-and, more
importantly, herb resin, which is the new-and-improved version of this
cannabis concentrate. which has been demonstrated in laboratory
analysis to put cancerous cells into a retroactive state," Gonzalez
says enthusiastically. "It's the only natural thing that is known to
mankind to do this. So it's very exciting work."

He reveals that this resin is provided to cancer patients "at cost"
for about $15 per gram, and he later mentions that hemp seed is an
effective and healthy form of protein. "It helps you boost your
white-blood-cell count, which makes it easier for you to rebuild your
tissue to fend off illness."

He also tells the story of a patient who suffered severe brain damage
and lost her basic motor capabilities after falling off a six-storey
building. He insists that cannabis is keeping her alive.

"She has a very negative reaction to opiates," Gonzalez says. "If she
doesn't control her pain and her spasms, her [brain] swelling goes up
and she dies."

In addition, the compassion club collects testimonials, including the
following from a member who suffers from sciatica: "If it wasn't for
Eden, I'd be down on the corner, still buying $6 rocks [of crack
cocaine]. On top of smoking rock, I was taking all sorts of pills to
deal with the pain from my sciatica. The drugs were not helping, and
the pain was unbearable. Cannabis made my pain go away better than
anything else. Because of Eden I could get good stuff that I could
afford. They helped me get clean, and stay clean."

Citing a 2012 paper published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs,
Gonzalez's report notes that a "growing body of evidence supports the
use of cannabis as an adjunct or substitute for prescription opiates
such as methadone in the treatment of chronic pain". That's followed
by a testimonial from another Eden client claiming that cannabis pills
enabled him to reduce methadone dosage.

According to Gonzalez's report, a majority of Eden's staff have
completed online courses with the Cannabis Training University. Eden's
operations coordinator, Rohan Gardiner, was a manager with the Green
Cross Society-which tests medical marijuana-and is himself a patient
under the medical-marijuana access regulations.

Dr. Evan Wood, a physician who works with the B.C. Centre for
Excellence in HIV/AIDS, tells the Straight by phone that there has
been an "incredible proliferation of dispensaries" in California,
noting that nothing of this magnitude has occurred in Vancouver.

He adds that in California, some dispensaries have been created by
people with HIV who have become "huge champions" of cannabis for
treating wasting syndrome and gastrointestinal problems.

"Coming from the world of HIV/AIDS, I've seen patients who benefit
from medical cannabis," Wood comments. "I believe if you have a
serious illness and you derive benefit=C2=85and that doesn't hurt anyone
else, the government shouldn't have a say in what you do."

Wood is a spokesperson for Stop the Violence B.C. It's a coalition of
public-health and legal experts, academics, and law-enforcement
officials who promote research on whether legalizing and strictly
regulating cannabis outside of any medical context will counter
organized crime and reduce marijuana access by minors.

In the meantime, Gonzalez is hoping to mobilize local politicians,
including Vancouver East NDP MP Libby Davies and Mayor Gregor
Robertson, to help Eden remain open after it loses its federal
licence. He's hoping that they, along with various academics, can help
put pressure on the federal government to grant an exemption under the
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

"In reality, what we're going to try to do is follow the same process
that Insite [Vancouver's supervised-injection site] followed to get
the same kind of harm-reduction licensing," Gonzalez says.

Gonzalez, 31, moved to Canada as a young adult from Mexico, which is
being devastated by the war on drugs. During his interview with the
Straight, he expresses concerns about the various societal forces,
including the pharmaceutical industry, that benefit from continued
marijuana prohibition. He emphasizes that doctors who refuse to
prescribe marijuana are not evil people-it's just that their training
doesn't expose them to the drug's benefits. For that, he holds the
colleges of physicians and surgeons partially responsible because they
play a role in medical education.

"Oftentimes, people ask me, 'Adolfo, why do you choose cannabis
activism? There is so much activism out there. Why choose that?' " he
says. "I answer that it connects to everything else in society-and
people here don't get it. But I come from Mexico."
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MAP posted-by: Matt