SWEET LEAF RELIEF

Local Society Takes Co-Operative Approach To Providing Medical Marijuana

A small yet passionate group of Calgarians is working diligently to
provide medicinal marijuana to ease the suffering of those struck
with debilitating illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, cancer and
chronic pain.

Founded in the fall of 2002, the Calgary Medicinal Marijuana Centre
(CMMC) is a not-for-profit co-operative that aims to provide its
members with a reliable supply of marijuana through a network of
authorized growers, to act as a support group and to educate people
on the oft-vilified plant's effects on a variety of illnesses.

"For whatever reason, and it defies logic, some people are just dead
set against marijuana," says Grant Cluff, president of the CMMC. "For
me, and for many people, this indeed is a harm reduction drug." The
role of educator is a natural fit for Cluff, who was forced to retire
as a high school social studies teacher in 1988 after being diagnosed
with multiple sclerosis. He spent the following 13 years using
pharmaceutical drugs for his MS, but over time the medications burned
holes in his stomach, gave him constant heartburn and left him
overweight, depressed and unable to walk.

Nearing his breaking point, Cluff, with the support of his family,
began making changes to his lifestyle. Over a three-month period he
slowly weaned himself off his medications, underwent a cleansing diet
and began using marijuana to cope with his MS, losing nearly 22.5
kilograms (50 lbs) of excess weight in the process. Now, seven years
later, Cluff is off all pharmaceutical drugs, using marijuana
exclusively to cope with his illness.

"(Now) I can't even get him to take Tylenol," says Eunice, his wife
of 35 years.

Witnessing the improvement of her husband's health, Eunice's
previously held belief that marijuana was as dangerous a drug as
heroin or cocaine dissolved. She now spends many hours a week
preparing baked goods for the CMMC, as well as delivering marijuana
to its bed-ridden members.

In July 2001, the Canadian government approved the use of medicinal
marijuana to ease the suffering of patients diagnosed with
debilitating illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, chronic
pain and cancer. However, as marijuana is still classified as an
illegal substance in Canada, many physicians are hesitant to
prescribe marijuana to their patients.

The Alberta Medical Association (AMA) advises its physician members
to "think twice" before filling out forms for patients to receive
medicinal marijuana as the AMA feels the treatment is not
evidence-based, long-term effects are unknown, and there are no
guidelines for appropriate dosage. Similarly, the Canadian Medical
Protection Association advises its 60,000 members to have patients
sign a waiver before prescribing marijuana for medicinal use.

Critics often point to the harmful effects on one's lungs caused by
smoking marijuana, but the CMMC recommends its members only inhale
through a vapourizer (a device removing up to 95 per cent of
carcinogens associated with marijuana smoke) or by ingesting it
through baked goods.

According to a Health Canada document released in 2003, a lethal
dosage of marijuana would require a person to smoke 675 kilograms in
a 15-minute period, and states that aside from the hazards related to
marijuana smoke, "the adverse effects are within the range tolerated
for other medications."

Cluff says he uses three to four grams a day and needs to use
marijuana every hour or two in order to keep his muscles from
stiffening up too much. After inhaling a few puffs from a vapourizer,
he makes his way to a well-secured room that houses nearly a dozen
marijuana plants he is allowed to grow under his exemption status.

He explains there are two main strains of the plant, Sativa and
Indica. From these two, there are dozens more variations, each with
unique properties and characteristics. According to Cluff, Sativa is
generally more useful for those suffering from nausea and depression,
and works well as an appetite stimulant, while Indica is more useful
for pain and muscle spasms.

"It's a political thing," Cluff notes. "Too many people out there are
sufferers from Reefer Madness," he says, referring to the 1936
propaganda film that instilled a fear of marijuana in the minds of a
generation.

According to Sue Stevenson, director of membership for the CMMC, the
centre isn't about changing laws and attitudes with flag-waving
activism. "Our focus is to reach people that need us," she says. It
is the Cluff's infectious passion for the centre that drives the
volunteer members to move mountains, says Stevenson, who also suffers from MS.

Stevenson knew marijuana helped her cope with her illness but often
had to rely on questionable sources for her supply, not knowing if
the marijuana she paid for was even of good quality, or worse, laced
with other, more harmful narcotics. She recalls spending the better
part of a year searching in vain for the CMMC before finding
information about the centre on a handwritten note inside a Calgary head shop.

Since joining the CMMC, volunteers at the centre have been busy
ensuring the 117 members have the required medical verification of
their illness to legally use marijuana. The group is also taking
steps to become more visible in the city, by placing its number in
the phone book and building a website.

However, some members are fearful that by becoming a more visible
entity they may lose the one place where they feel safe and enjoy a
sense of community with others with similar health concerns.

According to Kevin Brookwell, manager of public affairs and media
relations for the Calgary Police Service, as long as the CMMC is
operating under the law, its activities aren't an issue the police
are concerned with. Stevenson explains that the group has no
intention of breaking the law. "We're not going to do something
illegal when we're already doing something that most people perceive
as illegal."

With an annual growth rate of 17 per cent, the CMMC encourages its
members to seek exemption status to build upon the centre's current
network of authorized growers. This allows for the CMMC to have more
control in the quality of the marijuana produced for its members,
says Stevenson.

The centre currently sells its product at market value, equivalent to
$220 an ounce, but as its members acquire more exemption cards and
the number of growers increases, members will be able to get their
medicine for less than street value while being ensured of its quality.

"People need this product," says Stevenson. "Who are we to say no,
when we can provide good-quality cannabis."