LAW COULD BE BACKWARD STEP, MEDICINAL POT USERS WARN

Medical marijuana users in Nova Scotia say the proposed changes to Canada's
drug laws don't make their life any easier and might even be a step backward.

John Cook, director of the Cannabis Buyers Club of Canada, which purchases
marijuana and redistributes it to medical users, said while the changes
make the government look progressive, they are actually a step in the wrong
direction.

"Actually they are re-criminalizing possession that's already legal up to
30 grams," Mr. Cook said.

He was referring to an Ontario judge's January decision to dismiss charges
against a 16-year-old on the grounds Canada's marijuana laws were unclear
on the possession of 30 grams or less.

He believes that makes the activities of his club, serving 55 people in the
province, legal.

Mr.Cook uses marijuana to combat chronic pain, but his application for a
Health Canada permit has yet to be approved.

He says the proposed changes now make the possession of 15 grams of pot
illegal.

A Health Canada spokeswoman said the changes announced Tuesday have no
bearing on how much marijuana permit holders use or how they obtain it.

"It doesn't affect anybody who has an authorization," said Jirina Vik.

That's precisely why some of those who hold permits are unhappy with the
changes.

"For Cretien to say that he's modernizing the drug laws is absolutely
ludicrous," said Debbie Stultz-Giffin, chair of Maritimers Unite for
Medical Marijuana.

She said the changes don't address a flawed system that "drives chronically
and gravely ill people to break a law" by not providing for a legal supply
of the drugs that they are permitted to use.

Ms.Stultz-Giffin has progressive multiple sclerosis and has had a Health
Canada permit to possess and grow marijuana for her own use since 2000.

But the weakness and fatigue brought on by MS prevents her from growing pot
herself.

Her husband, Cliff, was convicted and fined for growing her marijuana
before she obtained a permit.

Ms.Stultz-Giffin now relies on another person, not approved by Health
Canada, to grow the marijuana that gives her quality of life and dignity.

"These stepped-up penalties for people the government and law enforcement
agencies perceive as being traffickers and distributors of marijuana will
make it more difficult for patients to be able to procure their
medication," she said.

She believes only full legalization will give people who rely on marijuana
reliable and reasonably priced supply. And she has little hope that the
government will take that step.

"I really think that in the end the resolution will come through the
courts, because the judges of the country seem to be the ones who have the
sane voices."