MEDICAL POT WILL PRODUCE STRONG BUZZ

Clinical Trials To Use 85 Kilograms In First Year

Government-regulated marijuana for coming clinical trials of its
therapeutic value will pack much more of a kick than the research pot being
grown in the United States, documents obtained by The Star indicate.

The most recent plans published by Health Canada indicate 100,000 joints,
from 85 kilograms of government pot, will be used in the first year of
clinical research. That amount will be doubled in years two to five of a
five-year plan.

The Canadian-grown pot will have a 5 to 6 per cent concentration of
tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active ingredient in marijuana which
provides the "buzz" for users, the documents say. Similar American research
used marijuana containing 3 to 4 per cent THC content.

The documents were obtained under Access to Information legislation by
Ottawa researcher Ken Rubin.

The May 1 "Statement of Work" for Health Canada also indicates Ottawa would
produce 29,400 placebo joints with less than 0.1 per cent THC.

The final decision on a series of plans for the government cultivation
project rests with Health Minister Allan Rock. The minister will also
choose the supplier.

One of the potential contractors shortlisted by Health Canada has suggested
turning the so-called Diefenbunker, the government nuclear bomb shelter
built for former Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, as a
potential hydroponic growing site.

Rock has given the go-ahead to study the effects of marijuana for relieving
some of the pain of those suffering from diseases like cancer and AIDS.

An early business plan for a government-regulated marijuana crop suggests
expensive security safeguards would be needed to guard against theft of the
pot from government employees.

Alternatively, the plan, prepared for Rock by BDO Dunwoody and Associates,
warns of a "medium" threat of vandalism from anti-drug activists who could
be expected to trash Ottawa's marijuana crop.

Either would damage the government's reputation; the plan recommends about
$340,000 to protect the government-controlled marijuana stash. The business
plan was produced a year ago as a guideline for Rock as his department
began preparations for the production of marijuana to be smoked for
therapeutic reasons.

The final decision rests with the health minister

The management consultants recommend that an outdoor Ottawa facility should
be secured with a 20-metre-high chain-link fence, 90 to 150 metres from the
actual crop.

"This fence should be topped with outriggers with strands of barbed wired,
angled away from the crops," the report says. Further, it wants large signs
posted prohibiting trespassing, topped with electronic security monitors.

The business plan estimated it would cost $1.25 million to start a
marijuana manufacturing facility, including $750,000 for a building and
$50,000 in security upgrades.

Of the annual operating costs of $332,200, it estimated it would need to
spend $2,000 on rolling papers and pay employees $25,000 to roll the
joints. Under that plan, they would have produced 200,000 joints from 170
kilograms of pot, twice the volume of the latest government option.