Weed Report

Although I've been a pot smoker for a good number of years, I never really
gave much thought to its medicinal properties. I had heard of people
suffering from AIDS or receiving chemotherapy using pot to stimulate their
appetite and how pot smoking miraculously helped glaucoma sufferers, but
until I opened my store, I had no idea of the wide range of ailments that
people used marijuana to alleviate. Suddenly, I met people who claimed that
it controlled their epilepsy. I met people with Crohn's disease who said
that pot was the only thing they found to effectively quell nausea. I met
people suffering from severe depression and saw firsthand how cannabis
helped them to cope with daily life. I met people in obvious pain and
confined to wheelchairs using marijuana to achieve a better quality of
life. The most common thread among all of these users' stories was that
smoking pot allowed them once again to take control of their lives and to
medicate themselves without the side effects of some prescription drugs.

Lynn Harichy is a 36yearold mother with multiple sclerosis. Her suffering
is very real. She finds that smoking pot controls the pain and muscle
spasms associated with her illness. It also gives her the energy to be more
productive. "I have taken many prescription drugs…for my illness," she told
me. "Most cost too much and the side effects are sometimes worse than the
illness itself."

A resident of London, Ontario, Lynn recently testified about her medical
use at Chris Clay's constitutional challenge to Canada's pot laws. After
Chris' conviction, Lynn picked up the gauntlet herself. On September 15 of
this year, in the presence of about 50 supporters, Lynn had herself
arrested in front of the London Police station. Under Canada's new
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, simple possession of marijuana is a
summary conviction offense. It carries a maximum fine of $1,000.00 and/or 6
months in jail. While she smokes marijuana to ease her pain, Lynn does not
consider herself a criminal and resents the government's ongoing decision
to classify her as such.

"I take full responsibility for my actions" she states. "It would just be a
lot nicer if I was given the opportunity to have choices instead of being
told like some young child that I'm not responsible enough."

Until July, Lynn was able to access marijuana through CALM (Cannabis As
Legitimate Medicine), a Toronto buyers' club. Since it has closed its
doors, she is forced once again to buy her pot from the black market. At
present, the only 'above ground' buyers' club in Canada is in Vancouver.
Police there have assumed a 'hands off' policy as long as purchases are for
legitimate medical use. How the nation's other police forces react will
surely be seen over the next couple of years as more of these organizations
appear and clandestine operations become more visible.

An Angus Reid poll of 1,515 Canadians, taken in the last week of October,
shows 83% of the respondents supporting access to marijuana for medical
use. 51% of the respondents favoured across the board legalization for any
use.

Among the medical community the jury is still out when it comes to the
medicinal value of marijuana. Harvard University's Dr. Lester Grinspoon
sees marijuana as a great medicine of the future, currently suffering from
a negative social stigma. Many doctors, unable for professional reasons to
recommend it to their patients, quietly acknowledge that 'it won't hurt '
when patients confide their selfmedication. Other patients are met with
scorn or derision. One doctor (who shall remain nameless) buys bongs and
pipes at my store and thinks that pot is a delightful recreational
substance. He remains unconvinced, however of its' true value as medicine
and thinks that many of pot's perceived benefits may be psychosomatic. I
don't agree with that, but even in cases where it may be true, is the end
result not still beneficial? If the patient feels better, aren't his or her
interests being served? We could (and probably will) argue for many years
over marijuana's effectiveness as medicine. I'm sure that countless studies
in the next few years will both prove and refute each other's findings. In
the meantime, perhaps we should trust the judgement of the sufferer; the
person who claims that smoking a bit of pot each day improves the quality
of their lives. Are they not the ultimate judge of what works for them and
makes their lives more liveable? As one gentleman said to me, cane in hand,
as he maneuvered about my store, "When I smoke pot, I can dance!"