FEDS TO ASK DOCS TO DISTRIBUTE POT: REPORT

TORONTO (CP) -- The federal government will ask doctors to distribute
medical marijuana grown in a Manitoba lab, CTV News reported yesterday.

While officials had claimed the quality of the marijuana was too
inconsistent to use, they now say 370 kilograms has passed the test, sources
told CTV.

An Ontario court ordered Health Canada to broaden access to medical
marijuana six months ago. The judge said current laws made "seriously ill,
vulnerable people deal with the criminal underworld to get medicine."

While Ottawa is appealing that decision, the court imposed a deadline of
today to set new rules for people who need pot but have trouble getting it
legally.

However, lawyer and marijuana crusader Alan Young suspects Ottawa will only
hand out a bit of pot to buy time.

"What they're going to do is probably as a test case approve two or three
different applications, see how that goes and then hope the court overturns
the judgment so they don't have to do it anymore," Young said.

Dana Hanson, president of the Canadian Medical Association, raised concerns
about replacing drug dealers with doctors.

Ottawa unveiled its plans for medical marijuana under the leadership of
former health minister Allan Rock and began growing a supply in an abandoned
mine shaft in Flin Flon.