B.C. MARIJUANA PARTY HOPES TO DISTRIBUTE MEDICINAL POT

The B.C. Marijuana Party says it will provide marijuana at low cost to
medicinal users in Prince George through a "compassion network" to be set
up by October. The city is one of nine communities that will be linked to
the distribution network by the end of the year, said party president Marc
Emery.

Prince George, Nanaimo, Kamloops, Kelowna and the west end of Vancouver
will be hooked up in September, with the second phase scheduled for December.

Organizers hope to amalgamate the local chapter with a compassion club
already operating in Prince George, said Will DeWolf, who ran for the
Marijuana party in Prince George-Omineca in this month's provincial election.

DeWolf, whose party advocates legalizing marijuana, said compassion clubs
help people who are suffering to find relief for their pain. "People who
need marijuana medicinally sometimes find it really hard to get. They don't
want to risk growing it themselves or buying it on the street," he said.
Others who are ill can't easily get out of their homes or can't afford to
pay street prices, he said.

"(The compassion network) supplies users with high-quality marijuana at
low prices," DeWolf said, adding the party will arrange for people to grow
the plants for the project and implement quality standards.

Patients will be able to buy pot for as little as $7.50 per gram -
marijuana sells for about $12 to $15 per gram on the street, said Emery.

The network is also intended to help those who are charged and face legal
costs because of their marijuana use, or those whose supplies have been
seized by police, DeWolf said.

He said he doesn't know how many people in Prince George are expected to
join the compassion network, but guesses there will be a fair number since
there's already an active club in the city. "I'm sure there are people
from around the region - places like Vanderhoof, Fort St. James - who
might get involved."

To be eligible for pot through the network, patients require only a letter
from a doctor, saying the physician is aware the person uses marijuana and
that it's helpful.

Compassion clubs already exist on the Lower Mainland as well as in other
major metropolitan areas across the country, but this is the first time the
Marijuana Party has initiated a concerted effort, DeWolf said.