HEP C PATIENT WINS RIGHT TO SMOKE POT

OTTAWA --Health Canada has given Robert Brown the OK to smoke marijuana
after the victim of hepatitis C spent two days camped in the rain on
Parliament Hill protesting for the right to do so.

Brown, 43, is the 20th person given such approval since Health Canada said
last spring it would begin clinical trials into the therapeutic use of
marijuana.

Brown got the good news on a cellphone during his Hill vigil this week.

"I'm feeling pretty sick, but I'm feeling pretty good," he said after
hearing the verdict.

Jeff Pendler, a Health Canada spokesman, said Brown's cold vigil didn't
influence the decision, but may have speeded up processing of his
application, which was already in the final stages.