FEDERAL MEDICINAL CROP GOING TO POT

OTTAWA -- Touted by some as the worst weed on the market, marijuana
sold by the government of Canada has been rejected by nearly 30 per
cent of people who received it for relief from illness. Documents
obtained by CanWest News Service indicate while 93 medical marijuana
users received pouches of the dried herb between August 2003 and the
end of March 2004, 29 of them sent them back. Nineteen patients even
refused to pay the $150 price tag per sack.

Now, the Office of Cannabis Medical Access can't seem to get the
sticky green off their hands. Of the 1,788 kilograms harvested for the
government since 2000, around 28 kg have been sent to patients for
consumption. While some marijuana was used for research, 1,127 kg
remained in storage last December, according to records released under
the Access to Information Act.

Lawyers for the Saskatoon manufacturer Prairie Plant Systems Inc.
disputed an advocacy group's claims that federal marijuana was low in
potency and high in heavy metals. Despite the $5.7-million grow
operation's location at the bottom of an abandoned zinc and copper
mine in Flin Flon, Man., the clinical-grade marijuana undergoes
stringent testing, say company officials.

The hype seems to have damaged the crop's reputation.