MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION TOO LATE FOR LOCAL MAN

A Chelmsford man is up on charges of possession and trafficking in a
substance he calls a painkiller. That substance is marijuana.

Barry Burkholder, 34, says he needs the healing power of cannabis to deal
with the pain of chronic arthritis and with various ailments associated with
recently-diagnosed hepatitis C.

Burkholder says he contracted hepatitis C 14 years ago from an unsterilized
tattoo needle.

Sometimes his pain is so bad, he says, he cannot turn a door knob. His
seven-year-old daughter, Nicole, has to help him up from the floor when he
falls.

Doctors continue to prescribe drugs which Burkholder believes are addictive
and dangerous to his malfunctioning liver. The one thing he feels good
about taking, and which makes him feel good, is pot.

On Wednesday, the federal government moved a step closer to legalizing the
use of marijuana for medical purposes. A Bloc Quebecois motion calling for
the legalization of pot for medical reasons passed Tuesday night in the
House of Commons.

The motion calls on the government to "take steps immediately" to develop
clinical trials, guidelines for its use and a safe supply of marijuana for
people who need it for medical reasons.

But Burkholder is not optimistic.

"If it passes and becomes law, that will be great," said Burkholder, whose
fingers are permanently bent from a debilitating strain of arthritis which
is hereditary.

"But they're not moving fast enough. (Health Minister) Allan Rock keeps
talking about doing trials, but trials have already been done. There is
already sufficient proof that cannabis helps people deal with their pain.
The pot takes the pain from the arthritis away. It helps me sleep and it
reduces depression. My liver can’t take these prescription drugs, but I
can't legally use marijuana."

"And if I can't, my death will be slow and painful. Now, I have this
criminal charge against me, and my children are about to lose their daddy
over it."

Following Tuesday's vote, Rock said he would move quickly to publicize the
government's plan for legalizing pot for medical reasons.

Burkholder says he will apply for permission to use the drug. To date, two
people in Canada can grow and use marijuana without being charged. They are
Jim Wakeford, an Ontario man living with AIDS, and Terry Parker, a Toronto
man who has epilepsy.

"I've been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking," says
Burkholder. "But pot is my medicine. I don’t traffic in the stuff, I smoke
it to relieve my pain."

With files from the Canadian Press