Pubdate: Thu, 17 Jul 2014
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2014 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Marie-Danielle Smith
Page: A2

DERIVATIVE MARIJUANA PRODUCTS STILL ILLEGAL

Parents face complicated procedure

OTTAWA * Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he
was just five years old.

The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of
epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures lasting three to four
minutes each, which have made it hard for him to attend
kindergarten.

That's all changed for the better. The first 10 days he used cannabis
oil, he had no seizures, says his mother, compared with the 67
seizures he had the day before.

"He had new worlds," said Mandy McKnight. "He was horseback riding. He
was in a boat, he went tubing. He was so happy. We had a little
glimpse of what life could be like."

Now Liam, six, is hoping to start Grade 1 in September, helped by an
educational assistant and a full-time nurse.

Wednesday, he was counting characters in a Teletubbies book and having
a good day. "I went to the park," he said. "I read a book."

Even though Liam is licensed to use medical marijuana, taking it in
the form of extracted oil violates Health Canada's Marihuana for
Medical Purposes Regulations, which came into effect April 1.

The strains of marijuana producers can sell are no longer restricted,
making it easier to find strains high in CBD, the chemical that treats
Liam's condition the best, but low in THC, a psychoactive component
associated with pain relief.

However, licensed producers can only sell dried marijuana. They cannot
sell derivative products, such as oils or foods made with marijuana.

The McKnights receive a boxed shipment of 150 grams of dried marijuana
a month from Bedrocan, one of 13 licensed marijuana producers in
Canada. Turning it into oil - Liam needs about a quarter of a cup each
day - is a complicated task.

"Health Canada says Liam has to smoke it or he has to vaporize it,"
Ms. McKnight explained.

This means the McKnights have to ship the dry buds to the
Montreal-based Medical Cannabis Access Society, where it is processed
and mixed with coconut oil before being returned. Then, Ms. McKnight
sends a sample to a B.C. laboratory that analyzes the CBD and THC
content so she can give Liam precise doses.

Technically, this process is against Health Canada
regulations.

"Financially, it's draining," the mother said. "If we were getting an
extraction from a licensed producer, it wouldn't cost nearly this
much. I don't even know how long we're going to be able to sustain
this."

Adam Greenblatt, executive director of the Medical Cannabis Access
Society, said he believes 60%-70% of medical marijuana users would use
derivative products if they were legal.

"There's a huge need," he said, speculating there could be special
prescriptions for the products if they were standardized. "It's up to
Health Canada to get with the times."

Isaac Oommen, who works at British Columbia's Compassion Club Society,
a cannabis advocacy organization, said 30% of the group's 9,700
members use derivative products, such as edibles, oils or tinctures.
Among new members, the percentage is as high as 90%.

In 2012, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled people should be allowed to make
oils, butters, baked goods and lotions using cannabis and designated
producers should be able to supply patients. But the new regulations
mean the case is going back to court.

If the ruling stands, the government would be essentially forced to
rewrite the rules, Mr. Greenblatt said.

For Ms. McKnight, who runs a Facebook page to raise awareness about
her son's condition, it's a matter of common sense. "I really hope
that somebody at Health Canada or somebody in this government just
finally stands up and says, 'OK, this is ridiculous. We need to help
these kids.' "
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MAP posted-by: Matt