FEDS ROLL OUT PLAN FOR DISCOUNT DOPE

THE FEDERAL government is in the medicinal marijuana business and the
pot is going for a bargain basement price of $5 a gram -- $10 cheaper
than it goes for on the street.

It's a deal that police say will open the door to abuse by criminals
- - a charge medicinal users say is bunk.

Health Canada insisted yesterday it wasn't trying to be competitive
with the black market.

"What we did try to do is establish a price which is reasonable, based
on costs associated with the production and implementation of the
program," Health Canada spokeswoman Cindy Cripps-Prawak said.

The feds announced yesterday their program was only temporary and that
it will provide pot for medicinal use for those who can't grow the
weed, as well as selling bags of 30 seeds for $20, until the outcome
of an appeal of an Ontario court decision.

But Staff Sgt. Marc Pinault, head of the RCMP's marijuana grow
operations section, said the cheap federal price is opening the door
for abuse.

"Are there people who are going to try and get around the rules in
order to take advantage of that price? Yes, there are people who are
going to try and do that," Pinault said yesterday.

An Ontario court ruled that the feds had until yesterday to come up
with regulations for distributing medical marijuana.

Cripps-Prawak said the federal government is proceeding with its
appeal of the Ontario ruling, which said it was unfair that medicinal
users had to turn to drug dealers for their stash, despite being
authorized to use it for health reasons.

'No Studies'

There are 582 Canadians who have permission to have pot for medicinal
purposes - 413 of those are authorized to grow it.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Anne McLellan said she's leery about the
government being a supplier.

"There have been no studies anywhere in the world that have been able
to confirm medicinal benefit," she said yesterday in Edmonton. 'We're
not convinced in terms of the medicinal benefits which is why we are
supporting clinical trials."