Pubdate: Wed, 13 May 2015
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Gordon McIntyre
Page: A1

MEDICAL POT ADS INHALED BY AIRWAVES

Medicinal marijuana adverts on Vancouver radio may be prohibited by
Health Canada, but don't expect anyone to do anything about it

Justin Wilcomes is known to push boundaries. Now he's pushing
medicinal marijuana.

Better known by his DJ name Drex, he made his name asking Premier
Christy Clark an inappropriate question about her sexual desirability
as a mother, which she laughed off.

It got him fired from 98.9 Jet FM in Courtenay, but he was hired by
CKNW last fall to host a show from 6 to 10 p.m.

Last month, Wilcomes began pitching medicinal marijuana on-air for the
Eden Medicinal Society.

"I think there are people with a bee in their bonnets about it,"
Wilcomes said. "As far as we know, we're the only radio station in
North America that does it."

If the ads bother anybody, good luck finding where to lodge a
complaint. Various national agencies seem to treat it like a live grenade.

The non-governmental Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has no
policy against marijuana ads, but then no one has advertised marijuana
before.

"I'm not sure what provision it would fall under," said John MacNab,
executive director of the council. "It's an issue we've never dealt
with before."

He said the council, if petitioned, would probably pass the issue on
to another agency, Advertising Standards Canada.

"If we felt that it was a content issue that fit within our codes, we
would have to have an adjudication panel examine it," MacNab said.

"But we don't administer the Criminal Code. If it's a crime, it's a
police matter."

A spokeswoman for Advertising Standards Canada referred The Province
to Health Canada.

So did a spokeswoman for the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), saying Health Canada has
jurisdiction over the legal production of marijuana and all things
weed-related.

Health Canada seemed unprepared for the issue of advertising and, after 
a couple of days of looking into the issue, sent this statement to The 
Province:

"Health Canada does not license organizations such as compassion clubs
or dispensaries to possess, produce or distribute marijuana for
medical purposes."

And as for the plethora of marijuana dispensaries spread around Vancouver:

"Furthermore, Health Canada does not authorize the operation of retail
storefronts. These organizations are illegal."

As for on-air sales pitches, Health Canada is pretty
clear:

"The sale and advertising of unauthorized therapeutic products is
prohibited under the Food and Drugs Act."

It's been a little over a year since medicinal marijuana laws were
changed.

The right of individuals to obtain a licence and grow their own supply
was revoked. Instead, large commercial growers were
established.

Of the 23 licensed commercial grow ops in Canada, six are in B.C.,
according to Health Canada.

The federal agency makes it clear that advertising anything but the
most basic of facts - brand name, price, cannabinoid content - is not
allowed, period.

Last fall, Health Canada let some growers know they'd crossed the
line, that information on their websites had to be removed.

Claiming that marijuana relieves pain or even describing the taste of
a particular strain are strictly prohibited.

But a dispenser operating and advertising medicinal marijuana on a
private radio station? That's a new one for the federal agency.

"It's interesting, there's no precedent," said Wilcomes, himself a
medicinal marijuana user.

"That's what is strange about this, no one seems to know what we're
allowed to advertise."

So he'll keep pushing and see what happens.

"It's the funnest job in the world, man."
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MAP posted-by: Matt