TORIES CRITICIZED FOR SLASHING CANADA'S MEDICINAL MARIJUANA PROGRAM

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his ruling Conservatives are
turning their backs on sick Canadians by slashing the federal
medicinal marijuana program, says a medicinal marijuana provider.

"These cuts slow the possibilities of getting more scientific
information to the general public on how to use cannabis," said
Rielle Capler of the B.C. Compassion Club on Commercial Drive. "This
government is not prioritizing the needs of critically and
chronically ill Canadians."

The research program was established in 2000 by the Chretien Liberals
to gauge the effectiveness of marijuana as a treatment by
distributing legal cannabis to about 1,000 chronically ill Canadians.

This week, as part of the $2 billion in spending cuts, the
Conservatives ended the research by pulling the $4 million remaining
in the program's coffers.

The B.C. Compassion Club contracts local marijuana cultivators to
supply organically grown marijuana to the chronically ill, and Capler
is quick to note this type of health care is still considered a crime.

"It's not legal for our suppliers to be cultivating; it's not legal
for us to distribute it and it's not legal for patients to use it," she said.

All Compassion Club clients must demonstrate a medical need for the
product, backed by a written recommendation from a health-care practitioner.