POT LAW HURTS SICK: CRITIC

MONTREAL (CP)-- The much-anticipated federal legislation to decriminalize
pot would still end up punishing those who need the drug for medical
purposes, an advocate for medicinal cannabis said yesterday.

"This scheme is essentially picking on poor people," Hilary Black, a
spokesman for the B.C. Compassion Club Society, told a news conference.
"People who are ill tend to be living in the most poverty."

They are often forced to choose between food and pot because the current
laws force users to pay street prices of between $150 to $300 per ounce,
Black said.

"The cost of medicinal cannabis right now is closer to the cost of gold
than it is to the cost of tomatoes, which in terms of production costs is
what it should be closer to," she said. She suggested health-care insurance
help subsidize medicinal marijuana.

The federal government is expected to unveil legislation this week aimed at
decriminalizing possession of marijuana in amounts below 15 grams.

Decriminalization does not legalize marijuana possession. But instead of
the risk of a criminal record, offenders could face fines similar to
traffic violations.

Health Canada now allows approved patients to smoke pot to relieve pain.