FEDS GET OFF ON MEDICAL POT

Ottawa Makes It Easier For Sick People To Get Marijuana -- Provided Their
Doctors Agree

Health Canada will make access to medical marijuana easier after July 30 --
just don't count on doctors getting too high on the idea.

Health Minister Allan Rock yesterday released the final set of rules to
govern doctors who prescribe pot; illnesses that qualify; growers who can
supply the drug and even the potency of the weed.

There's still one catch: Patients need approval from a doctor to get
medical marijuana -- and that might be tough.

As soon as the new rules were announced, the Canadian Medical Association
said it "cannot support the regulations at this time and believes most
physicians will be reluctant to participate in this process."

"I'm not happy until it's legalized," said Terry Parker, whose legal battle
to use marijuana for epilepsy led to the regulations. "It's absurd that we
have to get special permission from a doctor for marijuana. Why don't they
apply the same regulations to alcohol and tobacco, considering they're more
harmful?"

The CMA said too little is known about marijuana's health effects. CMA
officials fears patients may try to use doctors to get recreational grass,
long-term use could cause lung disease and heart damage and privately grown
pot may be contaminated.

DRUG REACTIONS

CMA past president Dr. Hugh Scully said he'll raise concerns with Rock
about marijuana's safety and unknown interactions with other drugs. If
there are bad reactions, doctors could face professional or legal sanctions.

Scully also noted that there are no legal restrictions on the potency of
privately-grown medical marijuana, although the government brand will be
initially set at 5%-6% THC, the active ingredient that produces a high.

"The quality is quite variable," Scully said. "That being the case, how do
you prescribe the correct dose? Is it one gram? Two grams? Four grams? How
often? Doctors are responsible for signing off on people being fit to
drive. Where does that fit in?"

Scully welcomed a federal plan for continuing research and review of its
marijuana access program, but said: "There remains a lack of comprehensive
and credible scientific evidence on the benefits of medical marijuana, the
known and unknown effects of its use when smoked and the implications of an
unregulated supply on the quality, consistency and contamination of the drug."

Rock called the regulations "a landmark in our ongoing efforts to give
Canadians suffering from grave and debilitating illnesses access to
marijuana for medical purposes.

"This compassionate measure will improve the quality of life of sick
Canadians, particularly those who are terminally ill."

MINOR CHANGES

Rock made minor changes to his draft regulations -- taking some onus off
doctors. As well, a mathematical formula on growing limits was changed to
reflect indoor/outdoor yields, and a six-month grace was granted to about
210 current holders of temporary marijuana-use permits.