THIS BUD'S FOR YOU: CANADIAN MARIJUANA READY FOR TRIALS

After months of confusion and delay, the federal government is finally
ready to give government-grown medical marijuana to sick Canadians.

"We now find ourselves in a position where Canada has a domestic supply of
marijuana for research initiatives," said Cindy Cripps-Prawak, head of the
federal government's Cannabis Medical Access program.

Health Canada is now getting the standardized potency it has been seeking
since 2000, when it gave Prairie Plant Systems of Saskatoon a $5.75-million
contract to grow the plant in a mine at Flin Flon, Man.

Canada's government-grown cannabis has a level of tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), the major psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, in the 10-15 per cent
range, Ms. Cripps-Prawak said.

Only two clinical trials on the safety and effective use of medical
marijuana are ongoing in Canada. Federal officials had to obtain
U.S.-produced marijuana for those projects in Toronto and Montreal, which
involve 32 patients in each city.

New trials are expected to include tests where all patients get access to
the drug.

"These open label clinical trials is where we will gain, hopefully, and
have a larger number of people, up to 300-400, who can participate in these
clinical trials," Ms. Cripps-Prawak said.