HEALTH CANADA WANTS TO PROTECT THE LICENSED MARIJUANA GROWERS

VANCOUVER - In B.C. 169 people are allowed to grow and possess
marijuana for medicinal purposes and an additional 22 people get
their pot from licensed growers, according to Health Canada.

But Health Canada won't release the number of licensed growers in
Vancouver because it wants to protect their privacy and guard them
from becoming targets of organized crime, said Christopher Williams,
a spokesman for Health Canada.

"Obviously, in Vancouver it's not as big a deal [because of the
population], but if it's Charlottetown or Winnipeg, then the numbers
start getting smaller and it's a lot easier to tell who might have a
medical issue or whatever," said Williams in releasing the latest
statistics on licensed grow-ops.

Williams, however, believes the majority of the licensed growers in
B.C. are likely operating in Vancouver.

The issue of medicinal marijuana surfaced this week when news broke
that three Vancouver men are suing the city after police raided a
house that once contained a licensed grow-op.