PROTESTERS SLAM MOVE TO SELL MARIJUANA

'Too Little Too Late'

The message was "too little too late" yesterday as politicians, activists,
and the ill converged on Parliament Hill just moments after Health Canada
announced it would provide medical marijuana to eligible Canadians.

Health Canada made the announcement at the eleventh hour, six months to the
day after Ontario Superior Court Justice Sidney Lederman declared that the
Health Canada Medical Marijuana Access Regulations (MMAR) was
"unconstitutional" and therefore invalid for only providing the "illusion
of supply". Judge Lederman gave Health Canada six months to rectify the
situation that "forces medically needy individuals to rely on black market
marijuana."

As the peace tower clock struck noon, Steven Bacon, 48, packed the
marijuana pipe he calls "the hammer" in front of the steps of Parliament Hill.

Mr. Bacon lights, inhales, smiles and says "strictly medicinal" while
exhaling the smoke of the potent weed.

Mr. Bacon explains he was the first medical marijuana exemptee -- one of
the 582 Canadians registered under the MMAR who are authorized to possess
medical marijuana, and in most cases, licensed to cultivate it.

The Milton, Ont., resident suffers from a degenerative disc disorder and
contracted Hepatitis C while working as a paramedic during the 1980s in
Alberta. He says smoking marijuana has made a huge difference in his life
because, due to the nature of Hep C, he can't take the medication
prescribed by his doctor. "My liver is shot to hell and I can't take the
pills," he said, adding he grows his own marijuana. "It took me three years
to get to the point where I could finally grow my own."

While Health Canada spokeswoman Cindy Cripps-Prawak stressed "the
government of Canada is committed to its marijuana for medical purposes
initiative that takes a compassionate approach to seriously ill Canadians,"
yesterday morning, Mr. Bacon stressed the policy is an interim measure.

He says he believes Federal Health Minister Anne McLellan dropped the ball
after former Health Minister Allan Rock got it rolling. "Anne McLellan is
sabatoging this program and we're hurting bad," said Mr. Bacon. "Her
announcement today that they're going to dish out some of this mine shaft
weed (the federal marijuana is grown in an abandoned mine near Flin Flon,
Man.) is more smoke and mirrors to buy a little bit more time while they
appeal the decision so they don't ever have to give us any."

Many who attended the rally on the Hill yesterday believe while some users
may be able to get marijuana from their doctors, they believe the procedure
to apply for it will be "monstrous".

Philippe Lucas, a member of the group Canadians for Safe Access and
director of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society, a non-profit
organization that distributes cannabis for therapeutic purposes, helped
organize the rally. He says the interim decision to have medical doctors
distribute marijuana and leave the compassion clubs out of the loop is
counter-productive to patients who want to try the drug, but don't have the
means or know-how to do so.

"What will a 55-year-old woman who has just been diagnosed with breast
cancer do when she tells her doctor she'd like to try medical cannabis," he
asked. "I'd like to know if that same doctor is going to show her how to
roll a joint, pack a bowl, make butter, make cookies out of it. Because
right now this is the role the compassion society is fulfilling and I don't
see the medical community taking that duty and responsibility on."

Russell Barth, 34, who listened to the speeches from his wheelchair,
explained the story behind the book he co-authored called Mommy's Funny
Medicine, and how he mustered the strength to write it.

The book tells a story of a little girl whose mother is coping with pain by
using medical marijuana and how her family deals with it, similar to how
Mr. Barth deals with his pain and nausea caused by fibromyalgia.

The marijuana "takes the edge off," he said. "I'm not going to say it's a
cure all -- like I'm smoking a joint and then I'm out playing racquetball.
"It's not that at all, I smoke it and I feel a hell of a lot less like
killing myself than I did a little while ago. And I feel like working and
getting things done, like writing this children's book."