PATIENTS ON POT

The Federal Government Makes Way for Medical Marijuana

IMAGINE you are a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy treatments.
The dingdong of your doorbell might be music to your ears-and relief
for your pain and nausea-as a courier delivers drugs to your door.

Wrapped in foil-lined pouches, your medical marijuana will come like
any other pharmaceutical drug; clearly labeled for content and
potency, instructions for use, and an expiry date.

RCMP won't swoop in and seal your deal with an arrest for possession
of an illegal substance. The pot you bought came from a safe source,
grown, packaged, and specially delivered by your dealer, the federal
government.

In July of 2001, Health Canada implemented the Marijuana Medical
Access Regulations (MMAR), a program allowing, under the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a person who suffers from severe and
debilitating medical conditions to access marijuana.

Before recreational users start freely rolling fatties, make no
mistake-the privilege to partake is limited those who, with physician
approval, qualify under specific, governmentcreated criteria. Cannabis
(marijuana) is a controlled substance and the growing and possessing
of the product remains illegal.

Health Canada media relations officer, Ashley Lemire, puts it this
way: "The importation, exportation, trafficking, production, sales,
preparations, derivatives and similar synthetic preparations of
cannabis is prohibited by law unless"-and here's where things get
interesting- "Authorized by Health Canada."

Cannabis for the Cure

According to Health Canada, those who can apply to possess Cannabis
fall into two categories. The first includes people requiring
compassionate end-of-life care, those who suffer epileptic seizures,
severe pain/and or muscle spasm from multiple sclerosis, spinal cord
injury and disease, or arthritis, as well as pain, loss of appetite
and severe nausea from cancer and HIV/AIDS infection.

The second category is reserved for those who have debilitating
symptoms other than those described in the first category. A medical
specialist must confirm a patient's diagnosis and testify conventional
treatments have failed or are inappropriate.

Getting the Goods

Prairie Plant Systems Incorporated (PPS), a Saskatoon based company
specializing in the growing, harvesting, and processing of plants for
pharmaceutical products and research, runs the government grow-op in
Flin Flon, Manitoba.

Cultivation, harvesting, drying, packaging, storage, and testing of
plants are performed under strict and controlled conditions in a
biosecure, underground growth chamber. Soil-free mediums, irrigated
potable water monitored for microbial and metal contents, and limited
use of pesticides help produce proper pot.

Milling of the plant results in a homogeneous product, required for
research purposes and accurate THC levels. Irradiation ensures users
with compromised immune systems are not exposed to toxic spores.

And prices are competitive. Dried marijuana costs $5 a gram-plus tax.
A packet of 30 seeds (3 seeds produce one plant) will run you $20-plus
tax. Like any dealer, the feds want to be paid up front. According to
Health Canada's website (www.hc-sc.gc.ca) the program has grown in
popularity and significant debt has been incurred as a result of
accounts in arrears.

You can put your pot on your credit card but don't expect help from
provincial plans. Marijuana is not approved as a therapeutic drug
under the Foods and Drug Act. You can, however, claim costs as medical
expenses on your taxes.

Health Canada will issue a month's supply of dried marijuana at a
time, based upon the daily amount proposed by the medical
practitioner, or the government will send a one-timeonly shipment of
seeds so that a license holder may produce his or her allotted supply.

Not comfortable growing your own stash? The government also issues
Licenses to Produce on behalf of patients, to qualifying third parties.

It sounds simple enough. But according to many medical experts, the
effects of medical marijuana are anything but clear.

Wielding Weed: More Grey than Green

Conflicting study results on the medical effects of marijuana along with
lack of ability to monitor patient intake, not to mention the controversial
nature of the subject, combine to make the prescribing of marijuana murky
for Canadian physicians.

A Kelowna doctor (identified as "Dr. Smith" to protect patient
confidentiality) says while the call for cannabis is common, endorsing
the drug makes him-and many of his colleagues-uncomfortable. "I am in
fact a vocal opponent," he says. "The few patients I prescribe for
were already using marijuana. They are typically complex patients who
historically claim the drug is beneficial but it's very difficult to
monitor."

Dyck's Kelowna pharmacist manager, Cameron Zaremba, agrees. "The
medication is ordered directly through Health Canada but it isn't
approved and it does seem like a messy way to give a drug. There are
variable ingredients and it's hard to monitor." Zaremba says while he
doesn't see marijuana as a panacea for relief, he does try to keep an
open mind, directing interested patients to further information. Dr.
Smith concedes marijuana may alleviate specific symptoms (particularly
in spinal cord patients) but he ultimately believes giving the drug
the medical nod may cause more head shaking problems than it cures.

Of particular concern to the doctor is the THC (delta-9-
tetrahydrocannabinol) component of cannabis. Marijuana contains over
sixty cannabinoids and several hundred other chemical substances, with
THC being the most prominent psychoactive cannabinoid. Its
concentration determines the potency of the drug according to Health
Canada-and can be incredibly dangerous, according to Smith and
innumerable medical professionals like him.

"If you talk to pediatric psychiatrists involved in early psychosis
intervention," Dr. Smith explains, "There is a strong anti-marijuana
stance in that group due to the effects they say come from heavy
marijuana use in preteens and patients in their early twenties."

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association's website
(www.cmha.ca), "Marijuana is safer than other street drugs in that no
known overdose deaths are recorded from marijuana alone." But the same
information page cites several studies suggesting heavy use of
marijuana can bring on psychotic states in healthy people and that
young people who frequently use the drug are more likely to develop
schizophrenia later in life.

Further warnings advise, when used in conjunction with other
therapeutic drugs that share the same metabolic pathways, marijuana
may mess with the prescribed drug's effects.

Not the Devil's Weed

If you want clean, quality cannabis for medical
use, Kelowna's BeKind Okanagan Growers and Compassion Club
(www.okanagancompassionclub.com) claims to be your answer.

Co-founders, Bob K and his brother in law, Paul (both prefer not to
use their last names) opened the club's doors in August of 2009 with a
mandate to promote and advocate for the health and emotional well
being of medical cannabis users.

While the pair appreciate Health Canada's program, they believe it
doesn't support quality of product or ease of accessibility people in
crisis need. "The process is too lengthy," Bob explains. "Physicians
are reluctant to sign and even then, the government can turn people
down. Without our assistance, people are waiting years to get help."

Club clients include a man with neuropathic pain who was unable to
navigate Health Canada's website and a woman with fibromyalgia whose
husband was getting ripped off, buying marijuana of questionable
content at Kelowna's City Park.

"People of all walks of life use our services," Bob says. "A lot of
them are women over 40 who don't want anyone to know they use
cannabis. These people are professionals but we've serviced the
homeless and drug addicted too."

Which is not to suggest BeKind isn't a reputable business. "This isn't
a place to get high," Bob insists. "You can't come in here without
medical documentation saying you have a condition that Cannabis helps."

Rob Callaway, a member of the team with a Masters degree from UBC
Okanagan, passionately educates visitors. "The general public only
hears about the THC content," he explains. "But CBD (cannabidilo) is
the anticonvulsant, anti-anxiety component that counters the psychotic
affects of THC. Health Canada only offers one strain and it seems to
be too low in CBD."

"We help people get exactly what they need," he says. "If you have
epilepsy we suggest you smoke Sativa product. For spinal cord
patients, Indica is good."

Ada Bertucci, an Okanagan Valley resident with Multiple Sclerosis, has
been using medical marijuana since 1994. She used to buy 'outdoor'
(pot with no name to it, from places like the park) but now she gets
everything she needs, including dried marijuana she smokes and cookies
she ingests, from BeKind. "Marijuana helps with muscle spasm, pain
management, and insomnia," she explains. "I used to take Valium. Now I
only use Cannabis. It has kept me sane and spiritually it helps me
deal with my diagnosis."

For the most part, RCMP aren't interfering. Staff Sergeant, Brian
Gateley, unit commander for the South East District Federal Drug
Section in Kelowna, says medical marijuana users stay within police
radar. "We hear about people using it according to regulations. They
aren't really the problem. Our concern is more with distributors using
licenses inappropriately."

"Technically we are illegal," Bob admits. "But the supreme court of
Canada says compassion clubs must be recognized for the good they do.
It's civil disobedience."

Last Dance with Mary Jane

You can't help but like the North Okanagan's
Marcel Dubois (not his real name). A charmer with an infectious smile,
he'll bend your ear, weaving his way through a lifetime of memories,
spinning stories in his gravelly French Canadian accent. But you may
not approve of his medical methods.

"I drink too much coffee," he admits. "Ten to fifteen cups a day." His
physician shakes her head at the implausible invincibility of his
lungs, subjected to steady streams of smoke-and not just the tobacco
type.

"I've been smoking pot for half my life," Dubois says. "It relaxes
me."

He used to smoke marijuana recreationally but since surviving colon
caner in 1985 (he now has a colostomy) Dubois turns to cannabis for
comfort. "I don't bother with the government kind," he admits. "I get
it for free from friends."

He says he has his doctor's approval, claiming cannabis relieves pain,
helps him sleep, and improves his appetite, not to mention his
indigestion. "I used to have ulcers. I tried every kind of medication
but now I smash marijuana up really fine and sprinkle it on my cereal
with a banana and brown sugar. The ulcer is gone."

Dubois lives alone. He's still driving, hunting, and woodcarving. He
says quite simply, the secret to his longevity is not slowing down. An
artist, sculptor, carpenter, musician and violin-maker, he's always
"smoking busy."

"Marijuana keeps me going," he grins. "That and Aloe Vera
gel."

At 101-years-old this October, clearly Dubois is onto
something.

What may not be so obvious is where to stand on the issue of medical
marijuana. It's a complex, controversial subject-one demanding
thorough research, expert advice, a little caution and a lot of
open-mindedness before decisions can be made. At the end of the day,
it's very Canadian.