PATIENTS SEEK RELIEF ON PRICE OF MEDICAL POT

OTTAWA -- Last September, Russell Barth sent a friend out with $300 to
buy him a bag of marijuana that he hoped would help alleviate the pain
he suffers from fibromyalgia.

A few hours later, his buddy called back to tell him the deal wasn't
going to happen, and that the money had been stolen.

Mr. Barth, who has the right to smoke pot to alleviate symptoms of his
disease, thought he would have been pleased yesterday when the federal
government established a system so medical users wouldn't have to buy
cannabis from unreliable connections.

But the 34-year-old single Ottawa man was disappointed that the
cannabis he needs would cost him about $20 a day. He can't afford it
and will probably continue to rely on morphine, codeine and other
standard drugs to deal with his pain.

"This is not going to help me," Mr. Barth said. "I'm looking at $20 to
$25 a day and I don't have that."

Some people who need the drug saw the federal government's plan to
begin supplying authorized patients with marijuana and seeds as a
positive first step. But many were disappointed with the cost and the
fact that the plan is still an interim one that could be cancelled
should Ottawa win a court case that allows it to end the program.

The price of the drug will be $5 a gram and the government has not
established how patients will pay.

Philippe Lucas, a Victoria man who has the legal right to consume the
drug, said he may try the federal supply, but urged the government to
reduce the price because it will put medicinal marijuana out of the
reach of many.

Mr. Lucas contracted hepatitis C in the tainted-blood scandal of the
1980s. He said the pot he grows for personal use prevents nausea
attributed to his condition. He was not confident that Ottawa would
continue with the plan.

"We can hardly take it on good faith knowing that they're appealing
this decision," he said. "This whole program could be
overturned."

Marco Renda said most people who have the right to use the drug
probably won't use the federal supply.

"If you access their program and they shut it down, then what
happens?" asked Mr. Renda, who also has hepatitis C and was part of
the January court case that forced the federal government to make the
supply available.

A federal official said yesterday that the government has no intention
of dropping the price. The official said the price was fair, and that
Canadians are already obliged to pay for drugs that are federally
authorized.