INSURANCE FIRM RECEIVES CLAIM FOR STOLEN MARIJUANA

REGINA -- Saskatchewan Government Insurance has received a claim for a
supply of marijuana stolen from a home.

The claim may be the first of its kind since new federal rules governing
the use of medical marijuana came into effect last summer.

"If you have home insurance and it's a medical supply, there would be
coverage," said government insurance spokesman Earl Cameron.

"It's no different than prescription drugs. Legal property is covered and
illegal property is not."

There are about 600 approved medical marijuana users across the country who
buy the plant or seeds from Health Canada. Ottawa started selling federally
approve pot last July to those people at a much lower price than is
available on the street.

The replacement cost of the stolen marijuana -- and whether the claimant
would be paid out in cash or kind -- depends on the individual's insurance
policy, Cameron said. Dave MacLean, provincial director of the Canadian
Taxpayers Federation, said his organization takes no issue with insurance
covering a licensed user's supply.

"If it's a prescribed drug, technically there's no difference between that
and any other prescription drug," he said.