PATIENTS NOT HIGH ON MEDICAL POT PLAN

OTTAWA -- Health Canada says it will provide medical marijuana to
authorized patients on a long-term basis, but patients aren't cheering.
Instead, they're upset the government will continue to strictly limit local
growing operations, forcing many patients to obtain government pot they
consider inferior and overpriced.

"This is not going to help the sick people across Canada -- it's only going
to hurt them even more, because it's only going to push us to the black
market," said Marco Renda, a medical pot user.

The latest version of the medical pot regulations appeared yesterday in
response to an Ontario ruling in the fall that said the existing marijuana
access rules were overly restrictive and unconstitutional.

Alan Young, a veteran lawyer and cannabis crusader, said Health Canada has
ignored much of the Ontario court order and he will sue for contempt of court.

"The court removed four major restrictions to access . . . one restriction
being the ability of a producer to grow for a number of patients," said Young.

"It's crystal clear, there's no way to circumvent this, they're simply
ignoring the court ruling. I will set the wheels in motion to take Health
Canada to court for contempt of court."

In its decision last October, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a lower
court order that the government provide a legal source of pot for
authorized patients.

Health Minister Anne McLellan responded to the earlier court ruling by
introducing an interim plan, under which patients could obtain pot from
Health Canada.

That contradicted McLellan's previous statements she would not release any
marijuana until it had been proven in clinical trials to be beneficial.

Now McLellan effectively has made the interim plan permanent, entrenching
it in regulations. Clinical trials will continue but the provision of pot
to patients won't wait until results are in.