CLUB REOPENS TO SELL MEDICAL POT

Although a medical marijuana compassion club was shut down in
Oceanside a few years ago, Bob Estes believes the mid-Island is ready
for the service.

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

As of April 2, 1,405 people were licensed to possess marihuana for
medical purposes in B.C. and 4,907 in Canada.

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, a medical marijuana user, calls the Health Canada product, from
Prairie Plant Systems Incorporated in Saskatchewan, "toxic waste",
full of chemicals and mould. And the fact the federal agency only has
one product is not helpful to users who often need to try many
varieties to find one that works for them.

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

He said the service is important because not everyone who needs it
knows how or is physically able to grow marijuana, and they may not
know 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.

Steven Roberts, executive director of the Vancouver Island Compassion
Society in Victoria, said Estes's work is necessary.

"The biggest problem with the Island is the political climate in the
small centres that make it hard for the needs to be met," he said.
"It's not easy to open a compassionate centre and have your neighbours
and the local politicians be happy with it."

The society has sold medicinal mairjuana to critically and chronically
ill people, through a doctor's recommendation, since 1999.

Roberts admits the service is against the law, but the centre's
relationship with Victoria police is good.

"We see police every day, but have had no complaints or comments," he
said.

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.

Sgt. Darrell Robertson of the Oceanside RCMP said police are aware of
the centre's activities in Errington, but wouldn't speculate on
enforcement action.

"We support people who need drugs to alleviate pain, but from what
I've read in the papers, [Estes] is going about this the wrong way,"
he said.

Oceanside RCMP will continue to monitor the centre.

"The criminal code says you are not allowed to sell marijuana," said
Robertson. "And if you buy marijuana illegally, you are subject to the
Controlled Drug and Substances Act."

Estes emphasizes that all the products the club sells - 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."

The product sells at about the same price as street level, because
Estes wants it to be available and to help guard against people
getting a hold of his product and re-selling it on the street.

Estes has "self-medicated" with marijuana since he was run over as a
teenager and has been licensed by Health Canada for six years.

"It is the only way for a lot of people to alleviate the pain. It's
not a matter of choice, it's a matter of, 'do I want to survive and
function in daily life,'" he said. "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's had a lot of support in opening the new business and "not
one person has said anything negative," though it did take time to
find a location that would accept the business.

The Vancouver Island Compassion Society has 1,072 members and Roberts
hopes Estes's centre goes over well.

"With needing the doctor's recommendations to access the services, it
does put the onus on the person using cannabis medicinally to do that
background work," he said. "If Bob has a lot of supportive doctors up
there, I can see things exploding."

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 complaints.

He will only sell to people with Health Canada licences 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.

Ashley Lemire, media relations officer for Health Canada, said the
agency is the only organization that can legally supply marijuana
seeds and dried marijuana for medical purposes and does not license
organizations such as compassion clubs to possess, produce, or
distribute marijuana for medical purposes.

"If compassion clubs operate outside of Canadian laws, this is an
enforcement issue and falls under the jurisdiction of law enforcement
agencies," she said.

Estes 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," he
said.

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