MARIJUANA - POT

Dear Sir (or) Madam:

Canadians are being denied access to cannabis hemp (marijuana), a
simple herb that can cure diseases, because it is considered a
controlled substance and those growing, processing and using it are
subject to prosecution under the laws of Canada. Concerned,
compassionate individuals are forced to resort to illegal means to
provide this non-toxic, non-addictive, inexpensive herbal medicine.

Canadians are being denied this alternative to the noxious chemicals
used in chemotherapy or to radiation. The public and law enforcement
agencies focus on the recreational use of marijuana. Clinical trials
have not been undertaken in Canada to support the efficacy of THC as
a medicine and to develop standard means of delivery.

I feel that denying Canadians the right to treatment to cure disease,
prolong life or ease pain and suffering is unconstitutional and I
urge the Canadian government to:

1. Recognize the results of worldwide research that has proved hemp
to be non-toxic, non-addictive and effective in treating various
diseases including specific cancers.

a. International research shows that THC initiates programmed cell
death in malignant gliomas [cancerous brain tumours], melanomas,
pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, and may be an effective treatment
for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and
ischemia/stroke.

(Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I, School of
Biology, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain. Dr. Manuel
Guzman, Nobel Prize Medicine, 2005, et al.) b. Other International
research affirms the previous and also includes treatment for
depression and substance abuse disorders, addictions, psychosis,
mental disorders such as Tourette's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive
disorder, pain management, inflammatory skin diseases and mammary
carcinoma. (International Cannabinoid Research Society, 2006
Symposium, Tihany, Hungary, and 2007 Symposium, St-Sauveur, QC
Canada, J0R 1R3.) c. Professor L. Grinspoon, Professor Emeritus,
Harvard School of Medicine, in the March 1, 2007 issue of the Boston
Globe reported; "A new study in the journal Neurology is being hailed
as unassailable proof that marijuana (cannabis hemp) is a valuable medicine".

1. Change the laws that are denying Canadians the right to an
affordable, effective medicine without the serious side effects of
the sometimes toxic or addictive pharmaceuticals.

2. Fund research to establish clinical trials in Canada to support
the effectiveness of THC as a medicine and develop standard means of delivery.

3. As an unrelated, but important issue, consider the agricultural
and industrial use of the hemp plant as a source of bio fuel.

Michael Storey,

Eastern Passage Nova Scotia