COOKIN' WITH CANNABIS

Couple Serves Up Medicinal Recipes

Even Russell Barth cringes at the thought of sipping a homemade tea
that's been steeping in a cannabis solution for 10 minutes.

"It tastes gross," the 37-year-old pot activist says as the
concoction cools in a refrigerator at the Jack Purcell Community Centre.

"I'm not drinking it for fun. I'm taking it to alleviate symptoms."

Barth and his wife, Christine Lowe, put on a cooking clinic during
the Ravenswing Craft and Zine Fair at the community centre yesterday.

Licence to Use

Barth and Lowe can be cavalier about their pot use because they hold
federal licences to use the bud for medicinal purposes.

Barth suffers from fibromyalgia, which causes insomnia and widespread
pain in muscles; Lowe suffers from a slate of illnesses, including
epilepsy, multiple personality disorder and eating disorders.

"Cannabis is the only thing I use," said Lowe, 37, noting she doesn't
take any other medications for her illnesses.

The couple showed a small crowd how to make pot-infused tea, oil and
butter, which, if spread on toast, might make anyone a morning person.

The couple finds smoking pot "very unpleasant," so cooking the bud is
one way to get around puffing it.

While Barth and Lowe rely on the cooking techniques to cope with
their medical conditions, other curious visitors were interested in
recreational applications.

Mike Foster, of head shop Crosstown Traffic, who helped organize the
cooking demonstration, noted the event was perfectly legal, as long
as Barth and Lowe didn't hand out samples.

A recreational marijuana user, Foster, 52, is also trying to find
alternatives to lighting up.

"I've been a smoker for over 30 years," the 52-year-old said. "You
get concerned about your health."