ALLAN ROCK GOES TO POT

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. A number of physicians,
including some in Manitoba, are concerned about the lack of clinical proof
that medicinal marijuana 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 the 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. 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 backward, approving the usage of medical marijuana
first, then holding clinical trials in an attempt to justify his decision.