Pubdate: Tue, 11 Feb 2014 Source: Standard Freeholder (Cornwall, CN ON) Copyright: 2014 M. P. Babineau Contact: http://www.standard-freeholder.com/letters Website: http://www.standard-freeholder.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1169 Author: M. P. Babineau MOST NATURAL DRUG ON THE MARKET The new Health Canada regulations and procedures for medicinal marijuana will do nothing more than alleviate Health Canada of any burdens from shoddy or corrupt growers, which has yet to be proven (aside from amateur growers causing mold and mildew in their homes), and to put more money in the pharmaceutical companies' pockets. What the new regulations will do, with no matter or doubt, will be to eliminate the disabled's ability to select the one drug that has minimal to no bad side effects over the myriad of horrible side effects caused by the pharmaceutical medications that the disabled were taking before being allowed to use the most natural drug on the market. Can any pharmaceuticals claim that they make people want to eat, help them sleep, cease the trembling and twitching of their limbs and reduce or even eliminate their incessant chronic pain? No. But marijuana can, when using the right strains in the right manner (oils and hashish do work better than the marijuana plant itself, and even more so when using a good vaporizer. Now, Health Canada is making it impossible for the disabled to continue using the proven helpful marijuana plant for medicinally beneficial and therapeutic reasons, and by "the disabled" I mean those people who are injured or suffer from illnesses that cause them to not be able to work, or to be unemployable (after so many years on disability for a debilitating illness, insurance companies would prefer to hire someone with little education and no experience over the long-term disabled person). So, who is going to benefit from the changes? The pharmaceutical companies, possibly the government, but assuredly NOT the disabled! The government will not be increasing tax revenue much, as most who now use medicinal marijuana will no longer be able to afford it. Once the disabled are put on the new Health Canada marijuana regulations, they will not be able to afford even one ounce of marijuana from a regulated grower/dispenser with the money they get from the ODSP. It will be either buy the medicine that works best, OR buy groceries, not both! The disabled will have no choice but to go back to the sometimes dozens of different pharmaceutical medications, each with their own horrible side effects, or turn to illegally growing their own. The inherent problem with growing their own is that Health Canada has already "outed" all of the license holders with their "mistaken" mass mail-out to license holders. So, this is either a plan to stop the disabled from using marijuana for health issues, or a plan to help pharmaceutical companies get all of the revenues they have been out of pocket since the government started allowing the ill and dying to use medicinal marijuana. Or, both. What this most definitely is NOT about is helping the disabled, in any way, shape or form. I put forth that everyone who is disabled, knows or loves someone who is disabled, or those with compassion for the disabled to vote the Harper government out of office, and hand the reins to Justin Trudeau! Maybe then the disabled will stand a chance of permanently getting away from all of the horrible side effects that the pharmaceutical drugs cause. M. P. Babineau Cornwall - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D