PRESCRIPTION FOR CHANGE

Canadians should be able to choose marijuana as a medical option without a
doctor's approval, says a special Senate committee recommending the drug be
legalized.

Some concern remains about how effective pot is in easing pain, said
Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, chairman of the Special Senate Committee on
Illegal Drugs.

And as it stands now, doctors have too much power to control access to
medical exemption status, Nolin said.

"We've analysed how the regulations were implemented," he said. "We found
out doctors have too much of a role to play. They are the gatekeepers."

"We don't think that's appropriate."

The committee's report, released yesterday, recommends pot be legalized and
made available to Canadians, much like alcohol is.

More importantly, additional research needs to be done on medical uses for
marijuana, Nolin said.

Health Minister Anne McLellan said she will take the report's
recommendations seriously, but said that it's "much too soon to say whether
we would move in that direction."

"Clinical trials would still be required," McLellan said at a meeting of
health ministers in Banff.

"Now, I know Senator Nolan has some recommendations in that area, but in
fact I haven't had the opportunity to review them."

If legalized, pot with THC levels higher that 10% should be only available
by prescription, Nolin stressed.

"High THC is better because you smoke less," said Munir Ahmad, who runs the
Edmonton Compassion Network, which helps provide medical exemptees with
marijuana.

The report might just scare off support because it recommends 16-year-olds
be legally allowed to obtain pot, he said.

"What's going to happen, I don't know. It's just a report from the Senate,
big deal."