FEDS HOPE TO FIELD NEW POT GROWERS

OTTAWA -- In a bid to boost the availability of pot, the feds have
softened medicinal marijuana rules.

Health Canada announced yesterday that it's OK to pay a licensed
grower for their weed.

And the department also cut down on the red tape in the application
process. It now only requires a patient to obtain the recommendation
from one medical specialist -- not two.

Health Canada spokeswoman Catherine Saunders said the move responds to
an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling in October that criticized the
federal medicinal marijuana program for making it too difficult to get
access to pot.

By striking down rules that require a licensed grower to provide
medicinal marijuana for free, Saunders said Health Canada hopes more
people might be willing to cultivate the crop.

"It might make it more available when you compensate the licensed
grower," she said.

There are no changes to the rule that licensed growers can only
provide pot to one user and a maximum of three people can pool their
resources to grow medicinal marijuana, Saunders said.

The feds provide 30 seeds for $20. Dried marijuana also is sold for $5
a gram -- about $10 cheaper than it goes for on the street.

Health Canada has approved 697 Canadians for possessing marijuana for
medical purposes and another 530 people are allowed to cultivate pot.