POT SEEDS DENIED

Health Canada officials admit their medicinal marijuana program has serious
flaws after a Kamloops man recently lost a tribunal to help him grow the
drug legally.

The man, who is on social assistance, applied to the provincial Ministry of
Human Resources for one-time funding so he could buy seeds and lights to
grow marijuana at home.

He is one of six people in Kamloops and 250 countrywide who have been given
legal exemption by Health Canada to smoke pot for health reasons.

His application was denied and a tribunal held last week in Kamloops upheld
the ministry's decision.

Paul Lagace, AIDS Society of Kamloops client services co-ordinator, says
the decision means his client is forced to buy marijuana off the street
from drug dealers.

"The problem becomes how do you cultivate without the equipment necessary
such as the lights and the seeds?

"He has not been able to access it legally. All it does is set people up to
break the law."

Roslyn Tremblay, Health Canada media relations spokesperson, concedes
Health Canada's inability to provide marijuana legally is putting people in
a position where they have to break the law.

Her only advice is to ensure people exempt from prosecution hang on to the
exemption letter provided by Health Canada to avoid arrest and prosecution.
"I do not endorse illegal transactions. That's why they are given the
letter, so they don't have to fear prosecution."

She adds marijuana is not covered by Pharmacare because it hasn't been
proven as a therapeutic drug and side-effects have not been properly studied.

Health Canada has contracted a Saskatoon company to grow and distribute
marijuana cigarettes by the end of the year.

A Toronto firm is putting a protocol for clinical trials to start testing.
Mike Long, Ministry of Human Resources media relations manager, says
funding for marijuana equipment is the responsibility of Health Canada.

"The laws around this issue are strictly through Health Canada."