WINS AND A POSSIBLE LOSS FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAWS

Earlier this month, Canadian health officials announced that patients in
that country will soon be allowed to legally use medical marijuana.
Beginning on July 30, patients will be issued photo identification cards
that allow them to legally possess cannabis. The new rule makes Canada
the first country with federal regulations regarding the use of medical
marijuana.

The regulation is the result of an Ontario Supreme Court ruling last
year in a case brought by an epileptic patient who claimed the right to
use cannabis. The court instructed the government to change its criminal
code to allow people with certain medical conditions to use the herb.
The court had threatened to overturn Canada's marijuana laws if they
were not changed to provide for medicinal use.

The new regulation provides for the use of medical cannabis with a
doctor's medical declaration by persons with terminal illness (a
prognosis of death within one year); those with serious medical
conditions such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, or multiple sclerosis; and those
with unspecified conditions that have not responded to traditional
treatments. According to Canadian Health Minister Allan Rock, the new
regulations will "improve the quality of life of sick Canadians,
particularly those who are terminally ill."

The Canadian Medical Association does not support the new regulations,
maintaining that too little is known about the use of marijuana as
medicine. Former CMA president Dr. Hugh Scully said the new guidelines
"plac[e] Canadian physicians and their patients in the precarious
position of attempting to access a product that has not gone through the
normal protocols of rigorous pre-market testing." The CMA's position is
similar to that of the American Medical Association, which last month
failed to endorse the use of medical marijuana and called for more
research.

Canada's new regulations do not provide for an immediate legal mechanism
for procuring the herb. Patients may grow their own cannabis, but there
is currently no legal source of seeds or clones. They may also obtain it
from a licensed supplier, but the government has not yet licensed any
suppliers. The Canadian government plans to begin growing cannabis for
medical use "sometime next year," according to Dr. Jody Gomber of Health
Canada.

This Catch-22 is similar to that created by California's Proposition
215, which allows for medical use of marijuana with a doctor's
recommendation, but does not provide for a means of marijuana
distribution. As such, buyers' clubs that dispense medicinal cannabis
remain in legal limbo.

Nevada Law

In related news, Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn in June signed a law
permitting the use of medical marijuana by seriously ill persons. The
state will create a registry of qualified patients. The law also allows
the state to apply for federal permission to conduct research on the use
of cannabis to treat various medical conditions. Nevada citizens voted
twice (in 1998 and 2000) to amend the state constitution to permit use
of medical marijuana by seriously ill patients.

Changes in Oakland?

Finally, on July 10, an Oakland City Council committee reached a
deadlock on a proposal to limit the amount of medical marijuana that
patients may legally possess. Current city regulations allow patients to
possess 144 plants or six pounds of dry marijuana.

On July 24, council voted 6-0 to cut the legal limit from 144 plants to
72 plants.