GOVERNMENT BULLYING MEDICINAL POT USERS, ADVOCATE CHARGES

Health Canada Wants To Pass On Personal Information To Police

OTTAWA - Health Canada is threatening to force licensed users of
medicinal marijuana to give the agency permission to pass on personal
information to the police.

Letters "strongly urging" medicinal users to sign and return the
disclosure consent forms were sent out last week by Health Canada.

But users of medicinal marijuana say that is an invasion of privacy
and are afraid the information could be misused.

"This unsolicited letter shows Health Canada more than strongly
urging. It is bullying and threatening," said Philippe Lucas, Director
of Canadians for Safe Access to Medicinal Marijuana, a non-profit
organization.

"Why should chronically and critically ill people who use medical
marijuana be subject to different rules and regulations than other
people in Canada?"

Health Canada says it needs the consent form to confirm or deny that
someone is authorized to possess or grow marijuana.

It's used, for example, when police arrest or question a person who
claims to be a licensed user.

Currently, Canadians who are licensed to use or grow the drug by
Health Canada are given the option to consent to such disclosure when
they make their application. More than 70 per cent have already done
so.

But last week, those who did not sign received forms and a letter from
Health Canada "strongly encouraging" them to sign and return the papers.

The letter, dated Jan. 20, also says Health Canada is considering
making it mandatory to disclose such personal information to police
agencies.

"For the present, your consent to disclose remains voluntary," reads
the last paragraph of the letter.

"Given concern for the public good, however, Health Canada will be
looking at making consent to disclose to Canadian police agencies
mandatory in the future and to make disclosure a requirement in the
Marijuana Medical Access Regulations.

"In the meantime, you are strongly encouraged to sign the appended
form and return it in the enclosed, pre-stamped and addressed envelope."

The letter is signed by Beth Pieterson, director general of drug
strategy and controlled substances. She declined to comment when
contacted late last week.

Catherine Saunders, a spokeswoman for Health Canada, confirmed the
department mailed 200 letters soliciting consent for disclosure.

"The purpose of those letters was to inform individuals of the
benefits to providing their consent," she said.

"For example, if police were to receive a complaint from a neighbour
and they went to investigate, they might first wish to call Health
Canada to ask if the address was known to us as being that of a person
who possesses marijuana for medical reasons," she said.

Lucas, who is a licensed medicinal marijuana user in Victoria, B.C.,
received his letter from Health Canada on Jan. 23.

"It's interesting but not surprising they are actively soliciting us
to give consent," he said wryly.

"But I absolutely object to mandatory disclosure. There are so many
concerns with that."

Among them, he said, is the lack of discretion it would give to AIDS
patients and those suffering from other illnesses, "in terms of
dealing with things like insurance and general prejudices."

But Lucas says he can understand why some people, particularly those
who live in apartments, might want to inform police they are exempt to
ward off a police investigation spurred by neighbours' concerns.

"But making it mandatory breaks all the rules of privacy," Lucas said.
"This is medical information about my medicine I share only with my
doctor.

"I only share this with Health Canada in order to get the exemption.
Cannabis is just like morphine, which is also illegal to possess
without a prescription."

Other authorized exemptees across Canada voiced concerns police may
raid and arrest exemptees the day

after their licences ran out, if enforcement agencies know the expiry
date through this disclosure of information.

The letter from Health Canada says "under no circumstances" will
personal medical information be disclosed by the department.

In fact, the consent only allows Health Canada to confirm the person
is a licensed user and how much of the drug they can possess.

The form also includes the start and expiration of the permit, the
address of the exemptee, their date of birth and the production and
storage location for the marijuana.

All of that information is already listed on the plastic wallet-sized
cards Health Canada issues to licensed medicinal marijuana users.

Saunders would not say why consent to release information already
available to police on the medicinal marijuana licensing card was
being demanded.

She did say the decision to show the card to police is the choice of
the licensed person, and therefore also a matter of consent.

Russell Barth, an exempted user in Ottawa who has written a children's
book about medicinal marijuana called Mummy's Funny Medicine, showed
his card to several police officers in Ottawa when he received it last
summer.

"Most of them had never seen it or heard of it, so how can they know
if the card is legitimate?" Barth said.

He said Health Canada should spend its money educating the police
about the program, rather than attempting to invade the privacy of
exemptees.

"But instead, they choose to hassle sick, dying people," he
said.

"Everyday I wake up with my guts in a knot waiting for cops to come
kick my frigging door in.

"Every day. And I haven't been able to sleep since I got this letter
from Health Canada."