LUCAS PUSHES FEDS TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON PROMISES

Four months ago, Philippe Lucas went to Ottawa to protest outside meetings
being held by Health Canada's advisory committee on medical access to
marijuana.

On Monday, he was in Montreal making a formal presentation to the same
committee.

But his message to the government - stop stalling and start providing pot
to patients who have received approval to use the drug under federal
Medical Marijuana Access Regulations (MMAR) - is the same now as it was then.

"We feel that it's good that Health Canada is reaching out to organizations
that have experience with medical marijuana," said Lucas, who ran
unsuccessfully for a council seat in Victoria's last civic election.

"On the other hand, we've had this kind of frank talk before and the
government has basically gone ahead and done its own thing."

Lucas, founder of the Vancouver Island Compassion Club, travelled to
Montreal with Hilary Black of the British Columbia Compassion Club Society.
Lucas' club provides medical marijuana to about 300 local residents, while
the Vancouver club boasts more than 2,400 members.

Lucas said his doubts about the committee stem mainly from Ottawa's failure
to act on recent court decisions that declared it unconstitutional to deny
people with terminal and debilitating conditions access to medical marijuana.

Three years ago, during Allan Rock's tenure as health minister, the
government began granting an exemptions for medical marijuana use under
Section 56 of the Criminal Code of Canada, the same section that allows
police officers to distribute drugs during sting operations.

When that means of controlling the distribution of medical marijuana was
declared unconstitutional, the government introduced the MMAR, which have
also been declared unconstitutional.

In a February 2003 ruling known as the Hitszig Decision, the Supreme Court
of Canada gave Health Canada five months to start providing medical
marijuana. The government has launched an appeal of the Hitszig case as well.

"Basically, the courts declared the law unconstitutional, because it
creates the illusion of access," Lucas said.

"The Supreme Court is frustrated with the Crown. Every time there is a
court decision for them to do this, they fight it, they appeal it."

While the federal government has spent millions growing marijuana in an
underground facility in Flin Flon, Man., Lucas complained that none of that
marijuana has been made available.

"They've spent $10 million on this program - the contract for Prairie Plant
Systems alone is $5.7 million - and they've never delivered a single gram
of pot," he said.

"What they're growing is only going toward research, while they' re sending
sick people into the black market."

Health Canada spokesperson Jurina Vlk said significant amounts of research
have to be done before Health Canada can officially sanction the use of
medical marijuana.

"Health Canada could not just distribute something that hasn't been tested.
It has to undergo clinical trials like any other drug," Vlk said. "It's not
an approved therapeutic product anywhere in the world."

Unofficially, however, Health Canada supports the use of medical marijuana
by allowing doctors to issue permission slips to patients who are deemed
eligible and letting compassion clubs provide the pot with a minimum of
police harassment.

"You have to draw a distinction between the criminal and the compassionate
side of things. We've provided an authorization so (medical users) will not
have a criminal offence."

Not only that, decriminalization of marijuana possession for all users may
be just around the corner.

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon and Prime Minister Jean Chretien have both
said the Liberal government will introduce legislation to decriminalize
possession of small amounts of pot for personal use, with such a federal
bill expected to be tabled in Ottawa this week.

But for Lucas, the government's actions are at odds with, its words. He
says the Chretien Liberals have deliberately stalled the program for
political reasons, not the least of which is a fear of repercussions from
the U.S. government.

"Instead of gradually making marijuana available, the government has
tightened the restrictions on who can and who cannot use pot as medicine,"
he said. "They've been increasing the number of hoops people have to jump
through. Under the old Section 56, you needed the approval of just one
doctor. Now you need a G.P. and two specialists."

Even the B.C. Medical Association, which has taken a cautious approach to
medical marijuana issue, says the federal government has been slow to react.

"Slow? I would say more like glacial. It's been quite disappointing," said
BCMA president Lynn Shore.

"We were encouraged that they were going to follow suit with testing that
would help determine the side effects, benefits, correct dosages... we've
always been in favour of evidence-based medicine and that's what doctors
need to know to prescribe a drug safely."

Vlk said the decision on distributing government-grown marijuana will
depend on the results of the clinical trials.

But Lucas said Health Canada is "scrambling" to meet the court-appointed
deadline and has grown more than enough pot - 26 crops by some estimates -
to conduct tests that need to be done.

"I have no doubt they'll have something in place by the beginning of July,"
Lucas said. "Whether it will be any better than what we have now, we'll
have to wait and see."