SGI CLAIM MADE FOR MISSING MARIJUANA

With legal marijuana use taking root around the country, insurance
companies may be left holding the bag for the cost of replacing a lost or
stolen stash.

Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) confirmed that it has received a
claim for a supply of medical marijuana stolen from the house of a Regina
resident. The claim may be the first of its kind at Saskatchewan's
provincial insurance agency since new rules governing the use and
availability of medical marijuana in the country came into effect last summer.

"If you have home insurance and it's a medical supply, there would be
coverage," said SGI spokesperson Earl Cameron, who could not comment
specifically on the Regina claim, but spoke generally on SGI's policies
regarding the possession of medical marijuana.

"It's no different than prescription drugs. Legal property is covered and
illegal property is not."

Last July, Health Canada announced it would sell dried marijuana and
cannabis seeds to licensed medical users, at a price much lower than what
the drug sells for on the street. The approved users, who now number about
600 around the country, face a number of restrictions and must get their
marijuana or seeds from Health Canada.

The replacement cost, and whether the claimant would be paid out in cash or
with replacement marijuana, would depend on the individual's insurance
policy and what kind of settlement was reached, Cameron said. As with all
marijuana for medical use, the replacement drugs would have to be bought
through Health Canada.

Dave MacLean, provincial director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation,
says his organization takes no issue with the provincial insurance agency
covering a licensed user's supply.

"We don't see a problem with that, we don't see a difference whether it's
prescribed Percoset or medical marijuana," he said. "If it's a prescribed
drug, technically there's no difference between that and any other
prescription drug. An insurance claim is an insurance claim."

Marcus Davies, communications director for the Saskatchewan Medical
Association, says the theft proves what his agency-- and its national
counterpart -- have been saying for a long time.

"This actually bears out one of the issues we raised in the first place,
the dangers of placing an illegal substance in the hands of a physician or
at a physician's office," says Davies. "Providing a substance that there is
a large black market demand for is creating a target. It's very
unfortunate, but this does put an exclamation point to what we've been saying."

But Sgt. Rob Willis, media liaison officer for the Regina Police Service,
says city police aren't concerned about the supply of medical marijuana in
people's homes sparking crime.