MEDICINAL MARIJUANA WORKS WELL WITH PATIENTS

Editor: You left a few important facts out of your anti-medpot
editorial "Government approved headache," (The Times, March 16).

First, and most important, is that weed works. Many people across this
country are coming to the realization that medical cannabis is a safe,
affordable, healthy alternative to toxic synthetic pharmaceutical
drugs which can damage organs and can have severe and sometimes fatal
side effects.

Second, the government of Canada did not "reluctantly agree" to allow
citizens to use medical cannabis.

It was forced to by the Supreme Court of Canada after the pot laws
were repealed temporarily in 2001.The only reason it created the
medicinal marijuana program was to maintain the status quo on cannabis
prohibition by allowing limited access to medical cannabis, to the
sick.

Finally, the main reason why medical cannabis is being grown
throughout our communities is because the federal government only
allows a very limited number of growing permits per address. This
makes it difficult for producers to start cheaply producing large
quantities of quality organic cannabis on rural properties in
greenhouses for large numbers of sick Canadians.

The government is creating a very large market and not allowing anyone
to fill the demand with the exception of Prairie Plant Systems, who
only grow one strain of expensive, weak, irradiated, pulverised
product that no one seems to want.

As a long-term user and producer of medical cannabis, I would
recommend that Langley look at a production and distribution model
that will eventually cure the problem of urban medical marijuana growing.

Carl Anderson,

executive director,

Canadian Safe Cannabis Society