ALBERTA MAY GROW OPIUM-FREE POPPIES

Valuable Crop Would Be Used to Produce Medicinal Drugs

If pharmaceutical research company API Labs' non-narcotic strain of
poppies is approved by the federal government, they may be grown in
Lethbridge, Alberta as early as 2013. This would be Canada's first
commercial cultivation of poppies.

"We need to focus on innovation," said Glen Metzler, president and
directing manager of API Labs, arguing that agricultural research is
central to the development of Canada's economy.

The company hopes to kickstart the production of thebaine poppies, a
unique species that does not produce opium. Instead, it provides a
high yield of thebaine, a chemical used by pharmaceutical companies to
produce medicinal drugs like OxyContin and codeine.

Metzler believes this crop could increase the independence of Canada's
economy, create 300 new jobs, and provide farmers with a viable cash
crop.

Thebaine poppies are valued at $3,000-$6,000 per hectare as opposed to
the $500-$700 per hectare value of typical crops such as wheat and
barley.

"To me it comes down to [the] market and having a buyer in place for
your commodity," said Robert Spencer, commercial horticulture
specialist for Alberta's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development.

Farms and other businesses in the area have provided financial backing
for the project, while the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce has begun
lobbying the provincial and federal governments for financial support.

"We're very much in support of this and we are going to take
resolutions of support forward to be passed by the provincial Chamber
of Commerce" said Paul Pharo, president of the Lethbridge Chamber of
Commerce.

There are concerns, however, that the increased availability of
thebaine poppies could lead to its illegal diversion into the making
of controlled substances, such as hydrocodone, with relative ease in a
small-scale operation.

But according to Metzler, large-scale processing would require a
$40-million facility and 70 per cent of the employees to be educated
to a Master's or PhD level, making it economically unfeasible for the
poppies to be used in any significant trafficking operation.

Furthermore, reports from the Poppy Advisory Control Board of
Tasmania, Australia, where thebaine poppies have been grown for 40
years, recount only 30 minor cases involving the illicit use of
poppies, and only three cases resulting in prosecution.

Metzler hopes to initiate crop testing by spring, and begin widespread
cultivation within the next three to five years. First, the proposal
must undergo assessment by Health Canada, to ensure "the issuance of
the license would not create a risk to public health, safety, or
security; and, the activities to be carried out under the license do
not infringe any of Canada's international obligations."

Southern Alberta was chosen as the ideal location for poppy
cultivation due to its dry environment, which deters mould and fungi
that would prey on the crop. Moreover, the high variation in
temperature from day to night would produce higher thebaine yields
from each poppy.

Currently, Canada is the only one of the G-8 countries that is not
involved in poppy production, which has led to imports of up to $1.2
billion per year in poppy products.