ALBERTA POPPIES WOULD BE OPIUM FREE

Fields of poppy blooms will dot the southern Alberta landscape if a
Lethbridge firm succeeds in its bid to grow an opium-free version of
the plant for medicinal purposes.

API Labs Inc. managing director Glen Metzler said he is close to
receiving federal approval to grow thebaine poppies -- a breed
stripped of narcotic characteristics -- and hopes to sow his first
trial crop this spring.

His plan to begin the widespread cultivation of poppies in Canada is
still under review by federal regulatory agencies but has received
support from the local business community hoping to reap the economic
benefits of a new cash crop.

"We know poppies grow very well in this area. We know there is a
(pharmaceutical) demand for the material.

"There's currently no production of poppies in North America. So it
makes a lot of sense logistically to be cultivating them here,"
Metzler said.

Thebaine poppies are a unique species that can be used to produce
prescription drugs such as OxyContin or codeine. They lack the
narcotic properties of traditional poppies, which are frequently
converted into heroine or opium, said Metzler.

Thebaine poppies were discovered by accident. The plant's chemical
development stops at the stage before it produces morphine, said
University of Lethbridge plant biotechnology associate professor Igor
Kovalchuk.

The high-thebaine content can only be converted into commonly used
prescription drugs in a high-tech laboratory.

The multimillion-dollar facility and hundreds of scientists required
to create those pharmaceuticals would make it uneconomical for anyone
hoping to use these poppies as illicit drugs, said Kovalchuk, who is
conducting poppy research with Metzler.

While there may be little apparent financial gain for nefarious
groups, it could become a considerable economic boost for local farmers.

"Our retail sales from pharmaceuticals derived from poppies is in
excess of $500 million a year. Australian farmers are being paid eight
times more per hectare to grow these plants in Australia than
traditional crops," said Metzler.

He estimates Canadian growers could get $3,000 to $6,000 per hectare
growing poppies compared to $500 to $700 per hectare for wheat or barley.

Producing opium poppies is restricted under the national narcotic
control regulations and requires a special licence from the federal
health minister to be cultivated, Health Canada spokeswoman Christelle
Legault said in an e-mail.

To be granted approval, the applicant must prove the scientific
purpose of their research, ensure personnel are qualified and the
proper security measures are in place. Applicants must also ensure
their activities will not create a risk to public health, safety or
security.

"Contrary to recent media reports, Health Canada has not given the
authorization necessary for this cultivation to begin," Legault said.

Private companies wanting to grow an unusual, non-food based product
must also identify if the species is new to Canada and has the
potential to affect the environment and human health.

"If the thebaine poppy is determined to be a (plant with novel
traits), it would require an environmental safety assessment . . . and
explicit authorization prior to cultivation in Canada," Canadian Food
Inspection Agency spokeswoman Julie LePage said.

It will also take time to cultivate this new poppy species to the
point where it produces a viable crop within a relatively short
growing season and determine how to combat local pests or bacteria
that could attack it, said University of Lethbridge biological
sciences and biochemistry associate professor Jim Thomas.

"It could take up to 10 years to do those field trials in order to
ensure you have got a really vigorous and consistent reliable crop
that is always going to produce results for you," said Thomas.

Metzler concedes he has not received all of the final approvals
necessary to begin growing thebaine poppies, but said he is close.

His first application for a research licence to grow the poppies in a
greenhouse has been given a provisional green-light, he said.

API Labs is working with the RCMP to confirm its threat assessment and
is installing security measures on a research greenhouse. Once a final
inspection has been given, Metzler said he hopes to begin growing
research poppies by the spring.

He is also optimistic he will receive regulatory approval to conduct
his first field trials later this year.

In the meantime, the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce has written to
Premier Ed Stelmach urging him to press his federal counterparts to
proceed with regulatory approvals.

It would provide local farmers with a more lucrative crop, require a
processing facility with hundreds of highly-skilled jobs and not be a
major draw on local water supplies, said Lethbridge Chamber of
Commerce president Paul Pharo.

"If we can start a basis of growing higher value crops in the south,
hopefully that will help us in a great degree in the future," said
Pharo.