PERMIT CAUSES MEDICAL MARIJUANA MIGRAINE

WINNIPEG (CUP)--Last Thursday, Tom Shapiro walked into the Regina
Police Department where he had recently been detained for possession
of drugs. He walked out with two large bags of dried marijuana.

Shapiro, who is infected with AIDS, has used marijuana for the last
five years to alleviate the nausea that is a side effect of his
medication. His large, medically sanctioned supply of marijuana was
returned to him legally on March 2.

Police seized the plants he was growing in his basement on January
31; his permit to grow and possess marijuana had expired in October.
Shapiro said that he had applied to renew it before it expired, but
it was late coming in the mail and he lost status as a legal user.
Tipped off by his electricity bill, police entered his Regina home
and seized 21 plants.

"Health Canada said I'm not on the list, so I must be illegal,"
Shapiro said. "[The police] were there for one reason. . .and they
did as much damage as they could."

Shapiro said that the police treated him as they would any illegal
grow operation.

He was taken to jail, fingerprinted, charged with growing marijuana
contrary to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and set with a
court date of March 7, but he was released when his renewed permit
arrived on February 2.

Two categories of people have access to medicinal marijuana. Those
suffering from multiple sclerosis, a spinal cord injury or disease,
severe pain or inability to eat as a result of cancer or HIV/AIDS,
arthritis or epilepsy fall into Category 1, while others in chronic
pain can also apply for access to the drug in Category 2.

In December 2000, Health Canada contracted Prairie Plant Systems to
grow marijuana in Flin Flon, MB.

Shapiro noted that overgrow.com, the website from which many
medicinal marijuana users purchased seeds, was seized by police in Quebec.

Christopher Williams, a spokesperson for Health Canada, said that
there are three ways to access with medical marijuana: it can be
purchased from the government, patients can seek a licence to grow it
themselves or use a third-party grower.

He noted that the average approval time for a permit to possess
medical marijuana is about 15 working days, though Health Canada
advises patients to start the application process six weeks in
advance of their licence's expiration date.

Shapiro said that he was concerned about the quality of the marijuana
returned by him to Health Canada, noting it may not be "smokeable,"
which would mean he would have to start growing it again or purchase
the Health Canada product, which he said is too expensive. He said
that many medical marijuana users spend more than half of their
disability compensation on the treatment.

Currently, there are 1,186 users of medical marijuana in Canada, and
Health Canada has authorised 859 licences to cultivate the plant for
medical purposes.

A pilot project aims to distribute marijuana in pharmacies across
Canada in multiple provinces and both rural and urban areas, but is
still in the planning stages.

Williams noted that Health Canada's "compassionate" approach to
medical marijuana is unique internationally. "It's important to
remember that it's not an approved drug, and nowhere in the world has
it gone through the clinical trials, and nowhere in the world is it a
prescribed drug," Williams said.

Even so, Shapiro said that Health Canada, acting in the best
interests of patients, should make medical marijuana more readily
available. He has suggested improvements to the list system,
including providing temporary licences and not removing patients from
the 'approved' list immediately after permits expire.

"If it works for a person. . .they shouldn't bar access to it."

He added that he thinks Canadians support better availability for
medical marijuana.

"I don't know why they would give someone something and then take it
away," said Shapiro. "They're as bad as any dealer on the street."