Pubdate: Tue, 15 Mar 2016
Source: Lethbridge Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2016 The Lethbridge Herald
Contact:  http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/239
Author: Bill Graveland
Page: 4

NOTLEY PUSHING FEDS OVER POPPY PROPOSAL

Test-grown poppies thrive in southern Alberta

Premier Rachel Notley is backing a push for the federal government to
unravel the red tape that prevents farmers from cultivating poppies in
southern Alberta. Thebaine poppies are prohibited under the Controlled
Drugs and Substances Act. Canada imports about $600 million worth of
thebaine each year from Australia and Europe, because it is not
available in North America. Pharmaceutical companies process it into
pain relievers such as morphine, codeine and oxycodone.

API Labs of Lethbridge says it has been test-growing the poppies and
they appear to thrive in southern Alberta, which is best known for
grain, potatoes and corn. The company wants to build a $120-million
processing plant and take advantage of a potentially huge market.

"What we're proposing is Canada should be self-sufficient. If we're
one of the largest users in the world in some of these medications,
then why are we not developing this industry here?" asked API CEO Glen
Metzler in a recent interview.

"Why are we relying on farmers in Australia and France to grow
products that our farmers could grow? We can develop the industry here
and our kids can have jobs in these processing facilities as opposed
to buying these materials in other countries."

API, the City of Lethbridge and Notley have reached out to the federal
government to ask for permission to move ahead with the project.

"This type of poppy can be transformed into a medically consumable
narcotic which can compete in the international market," the Alberta
premier wrote in a Jan. 12 letter to Health Minister Jane Philpott.

"As medical demand worldwide continues, this would provide an
opportunity for Canada to emerge as a global competitor in both
responsible growth and processing of this crop. I would appreciate
your department's timely approval of the necessary
exemptions."

A Health Canada spokesman confirmed that growing the poppies is
subject to narcotic control regulations.

"Health Canada has issued a small number of licences for scientific
research involving opium poppies over the past several years, but no
licences for commercial cultivation have been issued," said Sean Upton
in an email.

"To date, Health Canada has not received an application for commercial
cultivation of thebaine poppies."

The RCMP has voiced concerns to Health Canada that API's medicinal
plans could attract drug-peddling criminals and organized crime.
Internal briefing notes show Mounties expressed reservations during a
conference call with several other federal agencies in April 2014.

Metzler said the plants that would be grown don't produce enough of
the enzyme required to convert thebaine itself into morphine. He said
thebaine is considered a pre-cursor chemical.

"Even though thebaine is a controlled substance, it does not have
narcotic properties and cannot be used illicitly. Comparing the
thebaine poppies to codeine is like comparing barley to beer, or
comparing potatoes to vodka," he said. "It wouldn't actually give you
a buzz, it would make you sick if you were to ingest it."

Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman calls the poppy-processing proposal a
big opportunity and sent a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane
Dion asking for a speedy decision.

"It's not a big risk and this is a great economic opportunity that has
been ignored for too long," Spearman said. "Why bring the medicine
into the United States from Europe and Australia when it can be
produced here?"

Metzler estimates the size of the poppy market could be equivalent to
Canada's potato industry.
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MAP posted-by: Matt