DOCS FEAR A POT-INDUCED BACKLASH

As a qualified medical doctor and a Member of Parliament who has publicly
declared his support for reforming Canada's marijuana laws, Esquimalt-Juan
de Fuca MP Keith Martin has a unique perspective on the latest chapter in
the federal government's medical marijuana policy saga.

In fact, he's one of the only local physicians willing to speak out on
Health Canada's announcement that doctors will be the ones to provide pot
to patients who are deemed eligible.

In response to a recent legal decision, Health Minister Anne McClellan
announced last week that the federal government, through physicians, will
provide marijuana seeds and dried cannabis to sick patients who qualify
under Ottawa's medical pot program.

However, the Canadian Medical Association has warned doctors to refrain
from participating and the topic is so sensitive that not one of more than
a dozen Greater Victoria doctors responded to Weekend Edition interview
requests.

"Doctors are caught in a quandary, because they don't prescribe things that
are illegal," said Martin.

"If they get identified as a pot doc it could cause all kinds of problems
with their practice. They don't want to scare patients away or attract
patients that only want marijuana. It could also cause problems if they
practice with other physicians."

Martin, an outspoken advocate of decriminalization, said McLellan has "made
a mess" of the medical marijuana file and passed the buck to physicians,
without giving them the tools to deal with the issue.

"We haven't seen a pattern of guidelines in which people can be receiving
this substance or any scientific evidence to back it up," he said. "This
has put the physicians in a very difficult position."

Phillippe Lucas, founder of the Vancouver Island Compassion Club, said
doctors also have security concerns.

Lucas said a Victoria physician interested in obtaining medical marijuana
from Health Canada called him last week and expressed concern that the drug
couldn't be stored safely at his private practice without fear of theft.

So instead, the doctor asked Lucas' permission to order the shipment of pot
and have it delivered to the Compassion Club. "Ironically, that's what
we've been asking the government to do for years," said Lucas.

He added that people who use pot for medical purposes still can't find a
doctor to legally provide marijuana and doctors who have been given the
green-light to prescribe pot fear professional repercussions.

"We've got about 90 doctors on Vancouver Island who recommend patients to
the Vancouver Island Compassion Society, and maybe four or five doctors who
recommend to the Health Canada program, but I can't think of one who would
want to be publicly labelled a 'pot doc,'" said Lucas.

Warnings from both the Canadian Medical Association and the B.C. Medical
Association about the possible legal implications of taking part in the
program have put a chill on physicians who might otherwise have
participated, Lucas added.

"Many doctors acknowledge that marijuana has some therapeutic value but
have some legal concerns about providing something that falls outside the
regular pharmacopoeia," Lucas said.

McClellan, who said the feds do not want to be in the business of
"providing product", has confirmed that the federal government intends to
appeal the court order directing the government to make pot accessible to
those who claim a medical need, leading to speculation that the policy will
be withdrawn as soon as possible.

"We could be literally looking at a two-week window here," Lucas said.

In the meantime, the policy makes it more difficult to obtain pot through
legal channels by adding a requirement that applicants retain a lawyer and
formally declare that they will not use any other cannabis, except that
which is produced by the government.

Rather than wading into murky bureaucratic and legal waters, many doctors
simply continue to refer patients to compassion clubs, which have appeared
in cities across Canada and the United States as a means of getting
marijuana to those who claim medicinal need.

Mickey Hansen, executive director of AIDS Vancouver Island, said her
organization doesn't refer patients to local doctors who are willing to
prescribe pot. On the other hand, it would be helpful if people suffering
from AIDS had easy access to pot, which reportedly helps ease pain and
control nausea caused by drugs that are used to treat the illness, said Hansen.

"This issue has become a quagmire that Health Canada has to sort out for
themselves," she said.

Martin, a member of the Canadian Alliance, said the easiest way to solve
the problem would be to allow eligible patients to grow pot at home and
"use it for themselves to relieve suffering".