HEALTH MINISTER IS ON A BAD TRIP

What has federal Health Minister Anne McLellan been smoking?

Last week, she appeared to forget that when she was justice minister she
created an exemption that allows people with specific conditions to possess
marijuana. Ms McLellan told an audience of pot-leery docs at a meeting of
the Canadian Medical Association that the idea of smoking pot for medicinal
purposes made her uncomfortable. She went on to say that she hoped the
Supreme Court would provide clarity on the issue.

Either the minister didn't explain herself properly or she's been taking too
many trips to Flin Flon lately. The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled two years
ago that it was legal for terminally ill people to use marijuana for pain
relief. Ms McLellan decided not to appeal that ruling and introduced the
exemptions in response.

But a year later, the move has turned into a bad trip for doctors -- many
are worried about the liability of recommending an untested substance that
it is illegal to buy. The solution appears to be simple. Remove the
sanctions against buying pot as well as possession.

Former health minister Allan Rock favours looser restrictions. Last week, he
likened the prescription of pot to heroin, morphine "and all kinds of other
drugs which otherwise are unlawful and actually quite dangerous." What he
didn't mention is that the "quite dangerous" drugs doctors prescribe are
approved by Health Canada after clinical trials. And you buy them at a
pharmacy.

Mr. Rock also gave the impression that his $5.7 million plan to grow weed in
an abandoned mine in Flin Flon included clinical trials. But Canada has no
independent drug-testing branch, thanks to Heath Protection Branch cuts
under the Chretien administration. The only pockets deep enough to fund
clinical trials are huge pharmaceutical companies that have secured a patent
for the substance they want approved. Ottawa rubber-stamps the paperwork.
One of the stumpers here is that no one has a patent on THC, marijuana's
active ingredient. The safety issue could be addressed if Health Canada
established a branch to test natural substances for their effectiveness,
safety and quality. As things stand, Health Canada now says that the 250
kilograms of pot in Flin Flon will be used for non-human research. What a
waste. And yet some would argue that Ottawa can't get into the business of
selling pot if it intends maintain a criminal ban on others who traffic.

A Supreme Court case slated for later this fall is expected to decide
whether the federal government has the right to ban the recreational use of
pot. Perhaps Ms McLellan's comments weren't so far off the mark, after all,
as the medicinal and recreational aspects of the industry can not be kept
entirely separate. For example, can Ottawa justify the creation of medical
exemptions for pot smokers who are dying of AIDS, but not those living with
arthritis or multiple sclerosis? Women have used marijuana tea to ease
menstrual cramps for centuries -- Queen Victoria among them. A friend swears
that eating pot-laced cookies alleviates her anxiety. Winnipeg's Cannabis
Devout Mission Cafe would argue that their religious right to worship the
plant is at least as important as a dying man's right to live pain free.

Is it possible to draw a line between medicinal and recreational use?
Probably not. That's probably why the new justice minister, Martin Cauchon,
is looking at decriminalization, as Britain has just done. There, police
will no longer charge people for possessing small amounts. Traffickers still
face up to 14 years in prison. According to books such as Pot Planet:
Adventures in Global Marijuana Culture, pot smoking was associated with the
1960s counter-culture movement because rock stars like Bob Dylan used it.
And Jack Kerouac dreamed of mind-expanding drugs as a radical antidote to
Cold War America.

But like, that was 50 years ago. Today, heavy long-term use of marijuana is
more likely to be associated with a pronounced tendency to dress badly. Real
badly. Not to mention bouts of binge eating and paranoid thoughts. Carleton
University researchers reported in the April issue of the Canadian Medical
Association Journal that heavy users had lower IQs compared to non-users.

The worst effect of the inevitable decriminalization of pot may well be its
social effects: Smoking pot won't be edgy anymore. Golfers will use it. I
hope the hipsters on the Senate committee looking at the issue take this
into account when they release their pot report next month. In the meantime,
the 806 Canadians who are allowed to possess the marijuana that it is
illegal to buy are holding their breath. Perhaps the senators will recommend
giving Ottawa's stash away, to avoid the trafficking charges. I mean, it's
taxpayers' money, right? Power to the people. And the golfers.