MARIJUANA GOES MAINSTREAM

There were loud oohs, aahs and congratulatory hugs as people - some
young, some old, a few in wheelchairs - went around dozens of kiosks
at the first Medical Marijuana and Hemp Expo at the Metro Convention
Centre on Friday.

There was literature, there were documentaries and there was even
marijuana-themed art and clothing. But no marijuana.

Oh well.

"It wasn't the only thing I came here for," said a sheepish Megan
Walker, a 22-year-old baker in Yorkville. "I just wanted to see what a
pot expo would be like."

Right.

"There'll be lots of inquisitive people here this weekend," said Marco
Renda, publisher of Treating Yourself, an alternative medicine
journal, and organizer of the expo. "That's what we want and we'll
gladly answer all questions."

The expo, touted as the first of its kind in Canada, is to educate and
inform people about the medicinal use of marijuana. The expo also
hopes to attract people suffering from health problems "who don't want
to take pharmaceutical drugs that have adverse side-effects," Renta
said. "They have all the opinions, all the information they need here."

The expo includes vendors from all over the world, well-known speakers
from Canada and the United States but its biggest attraction: a
4,600-square foot "Vapor Room" that patients can use to ease their
pain.

Vaporization is a process where hot air is pushed through a chamber
containing marijuana. That air is then pushed into a separate chamber
and then inhaled.

It's healthier because there's no combustion.

"It's good to talk to people who are in the same condition . . . few
people understand that we need marijuana," said Ben Fudge, who lives
in Oshawa, Ont., as he took a deep puff from what looks likes a
gigantic cellophane balloon in the "Vapor Room."

He broke his hip and femur as a child when a truck ran over him. The
pain is still acute, he said, but "at least I don't have to take
painkillers that made me lazy. I've lost 45 pounds and I'm happier."

There were about two dozen people in the "Vapor Room" - some were
standing by vaporizers, inhaling marijuana, which they'd supplied
themselves, while others sat quietly in a corner talking.

It was where most people wanted to be but couldn't. Only those
registered with Health Canada for marijuana use could enter. Three
burly security guards were checking their registration. One guard
stayed inside the room.

Milly Stevenson, a 19-year-old York University student, was
heartbroken because she couldn't get inside. "I wanted to see what the
lounge was about because everything else is so neat."

She was still glad she came to the expo. "I have a friend who uses it
to ease pain from an accident and I thought it was an excuse. I've
seen enough to understand it works."

The medicinal use of marijuana is allowed in Canada but it has always
been a bone of contention.

Users say it's a long process to obtain marijuana from Health Canada -
it usually takes weeks to get it in the mail.

Another way to legally obtain marijuana is to get a license and grow
it yourself.

Meanwhile, Renda, who aims to make it an annual event, said it wasn't
easy to put the expo together. He worked on the concept for months and
then worked even harder to secure the prestigious venue.

"I had to prove its legitimacy. Basically, I had to convince them this
is not a stoner event. They checked other events I organized and were
finally convinced," he said. "I'm glad . . . because this is just one
of many."