POT-ERNALISTIC AL

Health Minister Allan Rock this week unveiled the regulations for the usage
of medical marijuana. But it's unlikely that pot smokers will be rushing to
their doctors to convince them to prescribe a pot plant or two.

That's because the vast majority of doctors appear to want nothing to do
with Rock's newly approved medicinal weed. Local physicians at the U of A's
multiple sclerosis clinic are concerned about the lack of clinical proof
that medicinal marijuana actually works.

The Canadian Medical Association opposes it because Ottawa is still
awaiting the results of clinical trials.

Interestingly, the CMA isn't the only organization that is skeptical about
the effectiveness of medical marijuana. Read this: "Evidence of the
therapeutic value of smoked cannabis is heavily anecdotal. Marijuana is not
an approved drug in any country.

"While there are reports of the therapeutic value of inhaled marijuana,
scientific studies supporting the safety and efficacy of marijuana for
therapeutic claims are inconclusive. Health Canada is also concerned about
the health risks associated with marijuana use, especially in smoked form."

Where's that from? Health Canada - Rock's ministry. More specifically, the
"Office of Cannabis Medical Access" branch of Rock's department which
oversees the licensing of medical marijuana.

Seems to us then that the government has jumped the gun in approving the
use of marijuana for medicinal purposes - even under the restricted
conditions outlined by Rock this week.

Pharmaceutical companies have to leap through regulatory hoops for years,
sometimes decades, to get a new drug approved by government before it can
be marketed. We're sure that they're not thrilled by the fact marijuana
seems to be getting special treatment from the feds.

That's bad enough, but Rock's little pot experiment is going to cause
problems in other areas of public policy as well. Eagle-eyed readers of
yesterday's paper will know that we ran a short story about Edmonton police
seizing 200 pot plants from a home. A 30-year-old was charged with
possession for the purpose of trafficking plus production of an illegal
substance. Good luck to the cops trying to weed out the legal pot from the
illegal stuff.

And don't get us started on the fact that this is the same health minister
who can't stamp out tobacco smoking fast enough. Rock's got this policy
backwards, approving the usage of medical marijuana first, then holding
clinical trials in an attempt to justify his decision.