PROCESS TO OBTAIN MEDICINAL POT VERY DIFFICULT, SAYS LOCAL PATIENT

Medical Marijuana Different Than Prescription Drugs

A Nanaimo woman who suffers with a brain tumour wants to know why she
can walk into any clinic in the city and get narcotics that may do
her more harm than good, but can't get confirmation from Health
Canada that her medicinal marijuana licence has been renewed.

Carolejean Heaver, 56, claims she grew wary of prescription
medication after nearly dying from a seizure brought about by an
anticonvulsant drug. She said the drug permanently damaged her liver.

Before getting authorization for medicinal marijuana use, she had
been prescribed a variety of other drugs, all of which are
metabolized by the liver, unlike marijuana that goes into the
bloodstream through the lungs.

I started to think why should I take all these dangerous medications
and then I was at a gathering where somebody told me to smoke a
little marijuana it will make you feel better."

That was in 2005 and she started to look into the pros and cons of
medicinal marijuana.

"Then later, I was going to a pain clinic in Edmonton and a doctor
there suggested I try it."

The pain clinic sent her to a psychiatrist and he evaluated her
situation and told her to try medical marijuana.

"That's when I discovered how difficult the process is for getting
medicinal marijuana," she said. "I can get dangerous addictive
narcotics, no problem. But it's so difficult to get medicinal marijuana."

Medical marijuana use is not permitted anywhere else in the world and
Health Canada wants to ensure it works, said a spokeswoman via e-mail.

"It's safety and usefulness as a medical product has not been
scientifically established," said Stephane Shank.

Last year, Heaver claims she was told her annual licence renewal got
lost in the mail. She has tried to follow her doctor's request for
renewal this year.

"He sent it in on April 4 and because of what happened last year, I
wanted to make sure they got the renewal forms. I called them two
weeks later and could not get confirmation that they had it.

"My licence expires in June and I'd like reassurance I have been
approved again."

HISTORY OF MEDICINAL MARIJUANA IN CANADA

- - Canada became the first country to adopt a formal system to
regulate the medicinal use of marijuana in 2001

- - More than 4,000 Canadians have gained a legal right to use marijuana

- - Legal users can grow pot themselves or buy it from Health Canada.

Source: Health Canada