PATIENTS JEER FEDS' NEW POLICY ON POT

Complain access remains too restricted

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 that the government will continue to strictly limit
local growing operations, forcing many patients to obtain government pot
grown at a Flin Flon operation, which 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 that she would not release
any marijuana until it had been proven in clinical trials to be beneficial.

Now McLellan has effectively 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. The federal pot, being grown in Flin Flon by a
company on contract to the government, hasn't had good reviews, with users
complaining it is impotent and of poor quality.