CANADA NOW ALLOWS MEDICAL MARIJUANA

TORONTO (AP) -- Canadians suffering from terminal illnesses and chronic
conditions such as arthritis can legally grow and smoke marijuana, or
designate someone else to grow it for them, under regulations that take
effect Monday.

The new rules are part of the first system in the world that includes a
government-approved and paid-for supply of marijuana, now being grown in a
former mine in northern Manitoba.

The rules will expand the number of people beyond the 292 in the country
currently exempted from federal drug laws that make it a criminal offense
to grow and use marijuana.

While some in Canada complain the new regulations create bureaucratic
hurdles and put doctors in the unsettling role of prescribing something
they know little about, the Canadian system looks wonderful to U.S. medical
marijuana advocates battling a zero-tolerance attitude.

"We're kind of envious of Canadians having the luxury of complaining about
the minutiae of the program," said Chuck Thomas of the Washington-based
Marijuana Policy Project. "It seems like a reasonable system."

Eight U.S. states have taken some kind of step toward permitting the
medicinal use of marijuana: California, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii,
Maine, Nevada and Colorado. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, ruled earlier
this year that there is no exception in federal law for people to use
marijuana, so even people with state medical-exemptions could face arrest
if they do.

North of the border in the country that is the biggest U.S. trade partner,
attitudes are different.