LEGAL DOPE 'DISGUSTING'

First Patients To Use Federally Approved Marijuana Give It Scathing
Reviews

OTTAWA -- Some of the first patients to smoke Health Canada's
government-approved marijuana say it's "disgusting" and want their
money back.

"It's totally unsuitable for human consumption," said Jim Wakeford,
58, an AIDS patient in B.C.

"It gave me a slight buzziness for about three to five minutes, and
that was it. I got no other effect from it."

Barrie Dalley, a 52-year-old Toronto man who uses marijuana to combat
the nausea associated with AIDS, said the Health Canada dope actually
made him sick to his stomach.

"I threw up," Dalley said yesterday.

"It made me nauseous because I had to use so much of it. It was so
weak that I really threw up."

Both men are returning their 30-gram bags, and Dalley is demanding his
money back - $150 plus taxes.

Wakeford said he is returning his unpaid bill for two of the bags with
a letter of complaint.

A third AIDS patient said he's also unhappy with the product, which is
supposed to contain 10.2 per cent THC, the main active ingredient.

"I'm still smoking it - I would prefer better, but it's all I've got,"
Jari Dvorak, 62, said in Toronto.

"I think Health Canada certainly should do better with the
quality."

All three are among 10 patients who have registered with Health Canada
to buy dope directly from the government to alleviate their medical
symptoms. Another 39 applications are pending.

The department was compelled to begin direct distribution in July,
following an Ontario court order this year that said needy patients
should not be forced to get their cannabis on the streets or from
authorized growers, who themselves obtain seeds or cuttings illegally.

The marijuana is being grown for Health Canada deep underground in a
vacant mine section in Flin Flon, Man., by Prairie Plant Systems on a
$5.75-million contract.

The department originally intended that the product go first to
accredited researchers to test its medical effectiveness.

Health Minister Anne McLellan has said she opposes the direct
distribution of government cannabis to patients and that the program
will end if the department wins its appeal of the Ontario court decision.

In Quebec City yesterday, McLellan said she is willing to have
officials from her department compare notes with the smokers.

"We're learning as we go along and I'd be happy to have my officials
meet with these people."

The government dope also came under fire from Canadians for Safe
Access, a patients' rights group that is pressing for supplies of
safe, effective marijuana.

Laboratory tests indicate the Health Canada product has only about
three per cent THC - not the 10.2 per cent advertised - and contains
contaminants such as lead and arsenic, said spokesman Philippe Lucas
of Victoria.

"This particular product wouldn't hold a candle to street-level
cannabis," he said in an interview.