STRENGTHEN MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAWS, UN DRUG WATCHDOG WARNS

Under Review

Justice Minister Robert Nicholson said yesterday the government's
medical marijuana regulations are under review after the UN's drugs
watchdog warned Canada needs to tighten up the system.

The Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board said Canada is
operating outside international treaty rules aimed at minimizing the
risk criminals will get hold of cannabis grown under the program.

"The whole question of medical marijuana is being looked at by the
Minister of Health with respect to the options that she has," said Mr.
Nicholson, whose ministry serves as the umbrella agency for the
government's anti-drug efforts.

The warning in the INCB's annual report accompanies praise for the
government's National Anti-Drug Strategy, which the board said it
notes "with appreciation."

Mr. Nicholson said he took heart from that, adding it "plays very
well" into the government's efforts to push through a crime bill
containing tougher drugs-offences sentencing provisions that has been
held up in the Senate.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews also argued the report "provides
further proof that Canada is recognized internationally as a leader in
crime prevention."

Canada increased the number of cannabis cultivation licences a person
can hold last year after court decisions stated patients' earlier
access had been too restricted.

Health Canada has issued almost 4,900 permits allowing people to
possess medical marijuana they get from more than 1,100 licensed
growers, some of whom are growing it for their own use.

"Canada continues to be one of the few countries in the world that
allows cannabis to be prescribed by doctors to patients with certain
serious illnesses," said the INCB report.

But the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotics, which Canada has signed,
says the government must be the sole distributor of the otherwise
illegal substance, which patients use as a pain reliever.

The opportunity for misuse of the system is reflected in an RCMP
review identifying 40 cases in which licensed growers were also
trafficking marijuana for profit. The same review found violations in
a total of 70 cases.

While the INCB report noted that Canada "intends to reassess" its
access-to-cannabis program, it said the board "requests the government
to respect the provisions" of the 1961 convention in conducting its
review.