CANADA'S POT LAWS BENEFIT PATIENTS

U.S. Drug Policy Is Stricter Than That Of Canada And Some European Countries.

The Canadian government has announced a plan to make marijuana available in
pharmacies after observing the benefits it can have for people with certain
illnesses, making Canada the second country to allow the direct sale of the
drug for medicinal purposes.

The new Canadian pilot project would allow government grown marijuana to be
sold in participating pharmacies in British Columbia. The program is
modeled off the one introduced in the Netherlands a year ago.

Participating pharmacies would be able to sell marijuana similar to how the
morning-after pill is sold in the United States: approved patients would be
able to obtain the drug directly from a pharmacist without a prescription.

Patients get approval through an application to the government which must
be accompanied by a declaration from a medical professional. Those who will
receive approval include individuals with terminal illnesses or with
specific symptoms associated with serious diseases that marijuana is seen
to have benefits for.

Before the change in policy takes effect later this year, marijuana for
medical use will only be available through certain suppliers approved by
the Canadian government.

Marijuana has been seen as a treatment for nausea and vomiting associated
with many types of chemotherapy used to treat cancer. It also has been used
to treat glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and severe forms of arthritis.

In the United States, policy on medicinal marijuana has followed the
opposite trend, becoming tighter. In May 2001, the Supreme Court ruled that
under the Federal Controlled Substances Act, laws prohibiting marijuana use
include no exception for sick people.

In October 2003, the Bush administration's advisement to change the law to
punish doctors for recommending or even discussing the use of medicinal
marijuana with patients was rejected by the Supreme Court.

Mitch Earleywine, associate professor of psychology who teaches a general
education course called "Drugs, Behavior and Society," said the stark
difference in drug policies between Canada and the United States comes from
the context in which the laws came about.

The U.S. policy is connected to when prohibition ended in the 1930s. In
order to keep the substance enforcement business alive, the board needed to
find something new for the American public to fear, Earleywine said.

Canada doesn't have that kind of history, he said.

Difference in attitudes toward marijuana in the countries can also be
attributed to the fact that Canada does not have a socially conservative
core such as the Bible Belt in the United States, Earleywine said.

Canada also has more of a European influence and a more liberal social
culture, he said.

"There is a strong moral expectation that you are not supposed to have any
pleasure unless you earn it in America," he said. "That comes from our
Protestant work ethic."

Despite the fact that federal law prohibits the distribution or use of
marijuana under any circumstances, nine states have laws permitting
marijuana use for those who have a doctor recommendation or prescription.

Those states include Arizona, Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine,
Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Earleywine said last year, with the United States' strict, no-tolerance
policy on marijuana, there were approximately 750,000 cannabis-related
arrests. "That is a whole lot of money wasted and law-enforcement time used
that could be better spent," he said.

Some nations that have not liberalized their laws as much as the
Netherlands or Canada have chosen to in order to make the drug a low
priority for law enforcement to free up resources for more serious crimes.

England has decriminalized marijuana to the extent that it takes a very low
priority in law enforcement.

In Australia, laws have also been relaxed with no increase in use,
Earleywine said.

He described the marijuana-enforcement policy to be similar to giving out
parking tickets. Police in Australia write a citation for those they find
in possession, take their marijuana and in turn make a lot of money off the
citations, Earleywine said.

Some criticisms in the use of marijuana for medical reasons come from the
side effects. Common side effects include psychological effects such as
short-term memory loss and problems in paying attention.

Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, a main chemical in marijuana is also seen to
cause drops in heart rate and blood pressure when used regularly. Cannabis
also can have negative effects on the immune system, leaving users more
susceptible to illness than nonusers.

But cannabis has remarkably fewer side effects than the other prescription
drugs used to treat conditions the drug is seen to have benefits for,
Earleywine said.