FIRST CLINICAL POT TRIAL TO USE U.S. STASH

OTTAWA -- Canada's first clinical study on the use of medicinal marijuana
will use cannabis grown in the United States while a large, Canadian-grown
stash of the drug sits on ice.

The United States National Institute on Drug Abuse has agreed to supply the
drug for a Toronto-based trial, even though that country's drug czar
disapproves of the program.

Meanwhile, about 200 kilograms of cannabis grown with Ottawa's sanction in
an abandoned Manitoba mine sits in storage and will not be used on
patients, Health Canada says.

"It's ridiculous," said Alan Young, a Toronto lawyer who is fighting the
federal government in court, arguing that regulations controlling the use
of medical marijuana violate constitutional rights.

He wants the Canadian-grown drug, created as part of a $5.7-million,
five-year federal contract by Prairie Plant Systems, released for domestic use.

"It really begs the question why they've awarded this contract in the first
place."

The clinical study will be conducted by the Community Research Initiative
of Toronto in partnership with St. Michael's Hospital and the Canadian HIV
Trials Network.

A spokesman for the community research organization, Derek Thaczuk, said it
inquired about using the Canadian cannabis, but was told by Health Canada
that the strains were not adequate.

Mr. Thaczuk said the trial, expected to start within two weeks, will
include 32 patients with HIV infection. It is intended to look at whether
the drug can stimulate appetite and weight gain in the patients, and will
take place over a six-month period.

Mr. Thaczuk said the group did not want to wait for the Canadian cannabis
because it has been working for two years to get the project off the
ground. The U.S. institute was able to provide the drug in four different
dosage strengths -- a requirement for the study -- while the quality of the
Canadian drug was not known.

The director of the U.S. national drug policy, John Walters, has spoken out
strongly against the medicinal marijuana program and decriminalizing the drug.

Health Canada spokesman Andrew Swift said the drug that has already been
grown in Flin Flon, Man., will not be used on patients, although it may be
used in studies of second-hand marijuana smoke.