LEGAL-MARIJUANA USERS TO GET PHOTO ID CARDS

Ottawa - People who grow or possess marijuana for medicinal purposes will
be given photo identification cards to prevent needless hassle by judicial
authorities under new federal regulations to be unveiled Wednesday.

The rules define the terms under which Canadians will be allowed to hold
marijuana for medical purposes starting on July 30.

"Today's announcement is a landmark in our ongoing effort to give Canadians
suffering from grave and debilitating illnesses access to marijuana for
medical purposes," Health Minister Allan Rock said in a news release
obtained by The Globe and Mail.

Health Canada will provide the photo ID cards, which can be shown to police
officers as evidence that the person is permitted to possess marijuana.

"The identification cards will carry only the basic information required to
identify the individual as a holder of an authorization and/or licence to
produce and to show possession and production limits," the release said.

The Supreme Court ruled a year ago that Canadians who need to smoke
marijuana for medical reasons have the legal right to do so under the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The regulations are designed to bring
Canada's marijuana law into line with that ruling and allow those who need
the drug for pain and symptom relief to obtain it from a licensed grower.

A draft version of the regulations that was unveiled last April contained a
little-noticed proposal to provide ID cards for people allowed to use
marijuana. After consultations with groups such as doctors, patients and
police, growers were added to the group to be given cards.

The regulations will allow marijuana to be used by people who are expected
to die of an illness within 12 months; those with chronic medical
conditions such as AIDS and multiple sclerosis; and those with serious
medical conditions who can't find relief in any other way.

In the interim between the court ruling and the new regulations, the
government decided who got to use medical marijuana on a case-by-case basis.

During the consultations, the interested parties suggested the changes to
prevent harassment from police and to streamline access to the drug.

Physicians and medical groups were concerned that requiring doctors to
complete applications for the drug on behalf of patients might discourage
them from participating. The amended regulations now allow the patients to
fill out the applications, although doctors will still have to produce
signed statements giving their approval.

The government also removed a proposed restriction that would have banned
growing medicinal marijuana within a kilometre of schools. The prevalence
of schools in cities would have almost certainly made it impossible for a
grower to cultivate the plant anywhere in an urban area.

Finally, the government has decided to eliminate a proposed requirement for
a document proving that a grower does not have a criminal record in another
country. "The regulation was unreasonable and practically impossible to
provide," says the department.

Under the regulations, people authorized to possess marijuana can get it
from a designated grower or produce their own. In the future, they will
also be able to obtain it from a supplier licensed by Health Canada. The
department has already contracted a Saskatoon company under a five-year,
$5.7-million deal to grow the plant.