CURRENT MEDIAL MARIJUANA REGULATIONS DISCRIMINATE AGAINST NON-SMOKERS

There are a number of inaccuracies in this article, but it is
understandable considering how much of a fiasco the situation really
is.

Medical Marijuana Alliance and Resources members can melt their pot
into food, like into baked goods, coconut oil, olive oil, etc. At
least that is what I was told on the phone by a Health Canada
official. We cannot, however, make tinctures, as that is considered a
concentrated form of cannabis.

The absurdity continues: We cannot sift the tricromes off to make
"hash" - which is safer to smoke - because it is considered a
concentrated form of cannabis. We can, however, use a vaporizer, which
eliminates the dangers associated with smoking.

MMAR regulations themselves have been ruled unconstitutional four
times, and since the regulations were never entrenched in law, they
are really nothing more than arbitrary rules. As such, the
participants in the MMAR program are -- technically -- under no legal
obligation to adhere to these regulations, nor do the police,
government, or judiciary have any legal jurisdiction to enforce them.
The reason is, they didn't amend the legislation to accommodate these
regulations.

"If we accept that medical marijuana is an effective pain-relieving
medication," Health Canada does not recognize the medical efficacy of
cannabis at ALL. Their official position is that pot is dangerous and
hasn't been tested enough to be used as a standardized medicine -
which is not even close to true as there have been over 20,000 studies
done. The reason the government even has the program is because they
were forced to do it by the court rulings. "...then I see no
difference in allowing the distributors to cook it, blend it, or
process it in whichever way to ensure that people who cannot smoke are
offered an alternative form of the substance." The government -- after
being lobbied by police -- regard this activity as concentrating the
medicine. To the cops, anything other than dried bud is the same as
opium or cocaine or meth.

If "The focus is on the well-being of those who are suffering from
pain caused by illness, accidents or other causes", then legalization
is necessary. Keeping pot illegal merely subsidizes gangsters and
cops. It is outrageously counterproductive -- more so than any other
government policy on the books.

Russell Barth

Federally-licensed medical marijuana user

Drug reform analyst and consultant

Educators for Sensible Drug Policy