GROWN FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES

Multiple sclerosis patient Brenda Pachal no longer has to break the
law to buy marijuana that eases her debilitating neurological condition.

Eight months ago the Nanaimo resident received a Health Canada licence
allowing her to legally buy pot prescribed by her neurologist.

Pachal, 46, now buys that weed from Duncan grower Eric Nash of Island
Harvest. He and partner Wendy Little are Canada's first
certified-organic cannabis growers.

"There are 1,000 patients in the system across Canada with
authorization to possess pot, but they can't find growers," says Nash.
"There are only 36 designated growers across Canada."

Nash, a Web site designer, says society's reluctance to accept
marijuana as medicine "all goes back to reefer madness."

"Health Canada has this program set up, but lots of people don't even
know about it and the doctors are the gatekeepers for it all."

Pachal says she usually smokes "later in the day."

"I get spasms in my legs and pot relieves that. It allows me to relax;
other times I can't relax because my mind just keeps going around and
around."

She's been smoking cannabis to relieve her MS symptoms since being
diagnosed 15 years ago.

"I've gone through a whole raft of prescribed pharmaceuticals but the
side effects were far worse than having a couple of toots," she said.

"I'd get wiped out by fatigue."

But Pachal stresses smoking dope to cope with her MS may not be
everyone's cup of tea.

"Some people with MS find it helps, others say it doesn't
help.

"It's something a person has to try and rule out."

Pachal was initially rejected for her licence to possess pot after
approval by her doctor, which disturbs Nash.

"All doctors and specialists can prescribe it and Health Canada lays
all the different conditions out."

Dr. Rachel Barton, president of the Cowichan Valley Medical Society,
was unavailable for comment by press time Friday.

While searching for a specialist to back her doctor's pot
prescription, Pachal logged on to Nash's Web site --
medicalmarihuana.ca -- at the end of 2001.

"I thought it would be awesome to find a grower, so I put my name on
the site saying I need a grower and Eric responded," she said. "I
didn't even know Eric was the owner of that site."

Nash, 44, agreed to grow weed for Pachal due to the short distance
between Duncan and Nanaimo.

After criminal record checks, Nash received his licence to produce
marijuana while Pachal's applications to possess dried marijuana and
have a designated grower were processed by Health Canada.

Nash began growing her indica plants in September at his undisclosed
location. Her "trustworthy" batch was ready by January, 2003. "I know
Eric grows good stuff. Many people can't even get a grower so they buy
off the street and who knows what they're smoking?" Nash says "lots of
stuff off the street could have pesticides and fertilizers in it."

"We use certified organic fertilizers and soils, but we have to buy
our seeds illegally from Amsterdam because seeds are illegal to buy
here.

"Our legislation has to catch up federally."

Pachal says growers "should be able to grow for more than one person,
so the cost is split between several people."

Little, 41, an art teacher who grows for an MS patient in Edmonton,
says she and Nash can charge clients for electricity and fertilizer
for pot that would fetch about $300 per ounce on the street.

"But this is totally compassionate; there's no money involved in this
for us. We're not allowed to charge any profit."

She and Nash started helping patients after researching pot's
medicinal use for her father who suffers with arthritis and
Parkinson's disease.

"We wanted people across Canada to have access to the information we
found and set up the Web site."

Pachal says she could grow weed herself "but I'm not as good a
horticulturalist as Eric and I live in a small place."

Little can grow 25 plants annually for her patient while Nash can
cultivate five for Pachal.

"My patient's doctor prescribed five grams a day and Eric's patient's
doctor prescribed one gram per day."

Pachal's on disability so her pharmaceuticals are paid for by the
province, but not pot.

"FairPharmacare should cover medical marijuana, but I guess there has
to be studies done about how marijuana helps people," she said.

"Cannabis hasn't gone through the strict regimen all the
pharmaceuticals have to go through, which is crazy because you can't
do that with herbs anyway," says Nash.

"Herbs in the health food stores haven't been scrutinized the way
pharmaceuticals have."

Pachal must also renew her licences every year which she thinks is
ridiculous.

"You won't miraculously get over MS," she says.