MEDICAL POT CROP A FIRST

Man Vows To Keep Fighting For Legalization

Jim Wakeford surveys his pampered marijuana plants and smiles. "This one
I'm going to be submitting to Cannabis Culture magazine for Bud of the
Month," he said yesterday, pointing proudly to one of his plants.

The first Canadian ever granted legal exemption to grow pot for medicinal
use, Wakeford, who has AIDS, has begun reaping the fruits of his
summer-long labour on the balconies of his Church St. apartment. Once cut,
the leafy stalks are hung upside down to dry. He brought the donated
seedlings from British Columbia in a cooler placed in the overhead
compartment of a commercial flight this summer.

Although he's proud of his 19 "girls," in some ways it's a bitter harvest.

"I'm a sick man. I've only been able to do this with the help of many
people," Wakeford said. The pot helps him combat nausea and loss of
appetite caused by his AIDS drugs.

But Wakeford said despite his court victories and letters of exemption from
the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the federal government isn't doing
enough for those who need a safe, steady and affordable supply of medicinal
marijuana.

"What I've achieved in court is a right without remedy. I have the right to
use marijuana for medical purposes, but I can't legally get it anywhere. It
must be legalized, not just decriminalized," he said. Federal Health
Minister Alan Rock announced changes would be made to allow pot to be
produced for medicinal use -- at first for clinical trials only.

But Wakeford said the government isn't moving fast enough for him and about
70 exemptees.

"I'm a dying man. I don't have time for clinical trials," he said. He and
his lawyer will argue the case in a provincial appeal court this month.