MEDICAL MARIJUANA SERVICE RETURNS

A medical marijuana compassion club was shut down in Oceanside a few
years ago but Bob Estes believes the area is ready for the service now.

It is legal for people with a Health Canada license or doctor's note
to use medical marijuana in Canada, but it is not technically legal
for people to buy or sell it.

There are only three legal ways for people to get the medical help
they are legally allowed to have - grow their own, have someone grow
it for them or buy it from Health Canada.

Estes pulled out a small vacuum pack of the Health Canada product,
which he called "toxic waste" full of chemicals and mold. He also
said the fact they only have one type is unhelpful to users who often
need to try many varieties to find the one that works for them.

He opened the Organic Matter Compassionate Access Centre in Errington
on Tuesday to give people access to a variety of quality, organic
medical marijuana.

He pointed out not everyone that needs it knows how, or is physically
able to grow marijuana, and they may not know any qualified growers.

"Compassion clubs are a real necessity if we're going to allow people
to get the medication they need," he said, adding medical marijuana
is used by people suffering with a wide range of pain and illnesses.

"Pretty much anything you can take pharmaceuticals for," he said,
chuckling that he hopes the big pharmaceutical companies don't come
after him for saying that.

Estes stressed all the products they sell including pot, cookies,
chocolate and tinctures, are 100 per cent organic from a network of
contracted organic growers he has developed.

"I went that way because when the human immune system is already
compromised, they shouldn't be putting more toxins into their body."

He said he sells it at about the same price as street level because
he wants it to be available to those who need it and to help guard
against people getting a hold of his product and re-selling it on the street.

Estes, who has "self-medicated" with marijuana since he was run over
as a teenager, and has been licensed by Health Canada for six years,
said, "it is the only way for a lot of people to alleviate the pain.
It's not a matter of choice, its a matter of, do I want to survive
and function in daily life."

Estes is on the B.C. business registry, the only thing required to
run a business in the Regional District of Nanaimo, and he is
optimistic about his relationship with police.

"The RCMP in Nanaimo and Alberni are fully aware of me," he said
explaining they threatened to bust him in the past for his home
delivery service, but he said he hasn't been busted since he was 15
and was first trying it as a medicine after standard pain medications
weren't helping.

"The Island is really ready for this," he said, adding there are a
couple long-time clubs in Victoria and maybe a couple others on the
rest of the Island but he believes the numbers will increase in the
next few years.

"I perpetually hear about the need from the community, there are so
many people who need it," he said, adding nobody knows for sure how
many medical marijuana users there are, but his best guess is that he
might end up with 1,000 members from the mid-Island.

He said he has had a lot of support in opening the new business and
"not one person has said anything negative," though it did take him a
while to find a location that would allow him to conduct the business.

Though there are no legal or Health Canada guidelines on how to
operate a medical marijuana business, Estes is following the example
of long-running clubs with protocols such as not allowing smoking on
the premises, hoping that will avoid causing complaints - which is
the most common way clubs get busted.

He will only sell to people with Health Canada licenses or people who
fill out the forms to join the club, including a doctor's statement portion.

The paperwork can be filled out by a variety of health care workers
including doctors, naturopaths and chiropractors, though Estes
encourages people to go through Health Canada to get the actual
picture ID - the most formal permission people can get to possess the
substance.

Asked about the Mid-Island Compassion Club which operated in Coombs
for about five years and was shut down by the RCMP, Estes said
"compassion clubs are a lot more legal these days than they where back then."

He said clubs across the country have proven over and over in court
that medical marijuana is legal.

"I'm just doing what Health Canada is failing to do."

The Organic Matters Centre is at #4 - 1260 Fair Road, Errington, open
noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Call 250-586-0420 for more information.