BLOC DEMANDS MARIJUANA DEBATE

The Bloc Quebecois wants a full parliamentary debate on the legalization of
marijuana for medicinal purposes.

MP Bernard Biras presented a motion yesterday in the Commons calling on the
Liberal government to take "all necessary measures" to decriminalize
marijuana for therapeutic reasons.

Mr. Bigras said it's time for the government to stop studying the issue and
come up with a clear position.

Doctors, criminologists, the terminally ill and the media -- but not the
elected representatives in the Commons -- have all begun to debate
legalization, he complained.

"It is unacceptable that terminally ill people are paying the price for the
lack of political courage of this government," the 29-year-old Rosemont MP
told a press conference. "Legislators have shown a total lack of
comprehension and compassion towards the chronically ill who aspire to
nothing but to live with dignity. The situation is urgent because every day
of suffering counts for these people."

A Reform MP has already introduced a similar private-member's motion asking
that MPs debate the issue.

Last year, an Ontario court ruled a Toronto man suffering from severe
epilepsy has a constitutional right to cultivate, possess and smoke pot to
alleviate his symptoms. The federal government is appealing that ruling but
similar constitutional challenges are under way in courts across Canada.

Justice Minister Anne McLellan said yesterday she has sympathy for people
who believe marijuana can alleviate their suffering, but she would not say
when a study by officials in her department and Health Canada will be
completed. Until it is, she said, Canada's drug laws will be enforced.

Advocates of the medicinal use of marijuana contend it promotes appetite
and suppresses nausea, making it a potential lifesaver for cancer or
battling the wasting syndrome caused by AIDS.

An Angus Reid poll last year found 83 per cent of respondents supported the
legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

"Buyers' clubs" have popped up across Canada for patients whose doctors
advise them to smoke marijuana.

The Bloc's motion was strongly endorsed by Ottawa physician Don Kilby, who
has applied to Health Canada for a special permit to supply a patient with
marijuana to help relieve some of his AIDS symptoms.