OTTAWA'S MARIJUANA MAY GO TO POT

Two weeks after Health Canada announced it would sell marijuana and
seeds to doctor-approved medical users, only 16 of the country's 582
potential buyers have submitted applications for the product, ministry
representative Jirina Vlk said yesterday.

In Chilliwack, the numbers are similar.

According to Shannon Carlisle, director at Chilliwack's Holy Smoke
Healing Centre, only a handful of local licensed users have applied
for the government's stash. She said that although there may be
applicants she doesn't know about, the statistic isn't surprising.

"People view applying as a risk," she explained. Medical marijuana
users must send their authorization to grow plants back to the
government in exchange for Ottawa's crop.

"That's all right, but no one knows what kind of marijuana they'll be
getting," she said. "If you send in your growing licence and then find
out that it's not good quality, you're in trouble."

In addition, Ms. Carlisle said the government is only selling one
strain of marijuana.

"Unfortunately, some people develop an immunity to a certain strain
and require a different one. The strain of marijuana they use is
specialized to their condition," she said. The government's sales
would be better if it offered prospective clients a sample of its
product, she added.

Nevertheless, she said Holy Smoke Healing Centre is very happy the
government is selling the drug.

On July 9, an application for medical marijuana was posted on Health
Canada's website. The form, part of an interim policy, came in
response to an Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision that said
the government had to provide a legal source and supply of the drug
for seriously ill people. Although the decision has since been
appealed, the court-assigned deadline for having marijuana available
arrived before the appeal date.

The appeal hearing is scheduled for this Tuesday, July 29.