MEDICINAL POT PLANTS NOW GROWING

OTTAWA - Government-sanctioned marijuana plants are already sprouting as
the health department announces the final version of a national program on
the medicinal use of pot today, an official says.

People suffering from serious medical conditions such as arthritis, cancer
and AIDS will have the legal right to smoke marijuana under regulations
expected to be in place at the end of the month.

An official speaking on condition of anonymity said yesterday some changes
have been made to proposed regulations in response to the concerns of
patients and doctors.

One difference is that patients, rather than their physicians, will apply
for access to marijuana.

``It reduces the burden on physicians and it empowers the patient,'' the
official said.

As well, the government will extend existing exemptions from criminal
marijuana laws by six months. Some 200 people have been granted such
exemptions.

The plants are already growing in Flin Flon, Man., by a company contracted
by the government, Prairie Plant Systems, the health official said, adding
the seeds were supplied by Canadian police forces.

Federal bureaucrats are still working on a deal to import other seeds from
the United States. The Flin Flon facility is expected to grow a wide
variety of seeds.

The government will also announce today new research funding for the
Community Research Initiative of Toronto to study the use of marijuana by
people living with HIV.