MANITOBA WEED MAKES MARK

Quality reaches research standards

For the first time, grown-in-Canada marijuana is being offered to
researchers for use in clinical trials.

Some 320 kilograms of pot grown in Northern Manitoba under the watchful eye
of the federal government has met strict quality standards and will be made
available immediately to researchers, Health Canada confirmed yesterday.

"If a clinical trial was approved tomorrow, we could make the material
available within probably a week or 10 days," Cindy Cripps-Prawak, director
of the country's Office of Cannabis Medical Access, told The Sun.

The hydroponic marijuana includes two strains, both packing significantly
more punch than average street pot.

It was grown in an abandoned copper mine in Flin Flon, about 650 kilometres
northwest of Winnipeg.

Lab tests have shown the buds of the main strain -- which makes up the bulk
of the approved weed -- contain between 13-16% THC, marijuana's active
ingredient.

The buds, or flowery top, of the secondary strain contain up to 25% THC,
Cripps-Prawak said.

Based on lab tests of marijuana seized by police, the THC level of street
pot averages between 9-10%, according to figures provided by Health Canada.

Cripps-Prawak said this is the first time the federal government has
approved Canadian weed for research.

"We're no longer relying on foreign sources of marijuana for clinical
trials," Cripps-Prawak said. "We now have a reliable, domestic supply."

ONE BATCH DESTROYED

Up until recently, Health Canada believed the two recent batches of Flin
Flon weed would meet research standards but was awaiting test results.

Some 26 batches of pot have been harvested in Flin Flon, but most has not
been up to par. One early batch had to be destroyed when it appeared the
plants had been contaminated with fungus.

Cripps-Prawak said Health Canada will now begin reviewing proposals and
earmarking the marijuana for clinical trials.

So far, only two clinical trials have been approved in Canada -- both using
weed brought in from the United States.

The marijuana grown in Flin Flon is strictly for research purposes. Patients
approved by Health Canada to smoke pot must grow their own or have someone
else grow it for them.