BLOWING SMOKE

CANABIAN DAY

Do Feds Make It Too Difficult to Access Medical Marijuana?

Pot proponents will be taking their message to Queen's Park on Sat,
Aug 21 in an effort to prove that there's public support for legalized
marijuana.

"We want to get the message out to people and encourage them to become
activists, to become active in any way and to overthrow the
prohibition that has lasted too long," says co-organizer Marko
Ivancicevic, a cofounder of Cannabis In Canada.

Although the ultimate goal of the organization is the legalization of
marijuana use and possession, an intermediary aim is improved access
for people with medical conditions including HIV/AIDS.

Ivancicevic says that he's heard a lot of negative feedback about the
quality of marijuana that Health Canada has been able to supply to
medical exemptees. "The patients aren't getting their health needs
met," he says. "There are more people sending it back and saying they
don't want to smoke it than there are accepting it."

Health Canada's Office Of Cannabis Medical Access (OCMA) also reported
dissatisfaction with its marijuana product through recent
consultations with stakeholders. The feedback, solicited as part of
the ongoing process of amending Canada's Marijuana Medical Access
Regulations (MMAR), also included concerns about misuse of information
given to police about medical exemptees and a desire for
simplification of the application and renewal process.

Currently in order to be approved for medical marijuana use a patient
has to apply for exemption through the OCMA and find a doctor who is
willing to vouch for them.

"They have lists of doctors available to sign these documents but they
will not give them out," says Jim Burgess, a volunteer with the
Toronto Compassion Centre.

"It's like saying, 'Here little kid, here's a candy but you can't have
it.' It's a piss off. You're playing with people's lives."

Burgess has been living with HIV for more than 20 years. He says that
regular use of marijuana helps him to maintain his weight and reduce
his stress levels.

He got involved with the Toronto Compassion Centre, an underground,
not-for-profit organization that facilitates access to therapeutic
marijuana, after a violent robbery of the centre threatened to shut it
down.

"Now I'm the longest standing volunteer left. A lot of people have
abandoned the cause because they couldn't handle the stress or they
got too sick to continue."

Although he wants Health Canada to make it easier for patients to
receive medical marijuana, Burgess would ultimately like to see pot
legalized and available through a Crown corporation comparable to the
LCBO. "Decriminalization isn't the way to go," he says. "Legalization
is the way to go."

Ivancicevic agrees and is looking to launch a constitutional challenge
against anti-marijuana legislation. He was arrested in January for
marijuana possession and has a November court date, but he's concerned
his case will never make it to trial.

"As soon as you say you want to challenge it they plea bargain or
dismiss it. They don't want any other case to come forward to set a
precedent," he says, referring to a series of cases that have called
into question the legality of possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Although the Supreme Court has since ruled that the law does not
violate the Charter Of Rights And Freedoms, Bill C-10, which would
clarify the legalities of possession of small amounts, has yet to be
passed by Parliament.

*For more information check out Canabianday.ca. For more on the
Toronto Compassion Centre go to Torontocompassioncentre.org.