WHO'S REALLY IN DISCOMFORT?

Toronto lawyer Alan Young has the picture right: Anne McLellan, Canada's
health minister, is either "confused, or she's being disingenuous,"
relating her discomfort with allowing people with epilepsy, terminal cancer
or chronic pain legal access to marijuana.

When you consider the group to whom McLellan shared her discomfort -- the
Canadian medical establishment -- you could include doctors in the group of
confused and disingenuous.

There are several points upon which McLellan's comments can be said to
increase the pain of people suffering from incurable, debilitating and
agonizing diseases.

McLellan should know -- she used to be the federal justice minister, after
all-- that the courts have roundly struck down pot possession laws for
people who use marijuana for medicinal purposes. Courts in Ontario and
Alberta have repeated that they will not enforce laws that place people in
agony.

In fact, the current situation in law stems from the federal government
being given a court deadline to either change possession laws for people
using marijuana for medical relief of pain and suffering, or the courts
would simply cease to enforce any part of the laws restricting use of
marijuana. They were given 12 months to act and they did.

The government has a $5.7-million project to grow and distribute marijuana
to select patients for the next four years.

Enter the doctors. Their national association has told its members not to
sign any formal patient requests to receive any of the 400 kg of medicinal
pot the federal government is having grown each year for four years
specifically for this use. Just the same, more than 800 patients have
qualified under the government's rules for the special program. However,
it's now doubtful any of them will, due to the medical association's
pressure and McLellan's personal discomfort.

Imagine this: some of them are now turning to the courts to force the
uncomfortable McLellan to release the drug to them.

The doctors say they don't want to expose themselves to lawsuits for
prescribing an untested drug. Baloney. Untested drugs are given all the
time to patients in dire straits, who knowingly sign the appropriate
releases. And these untested drugs and procedures don't have near the
overwhelming weight of anecdotal evidence of efficacy that marijuana has.

Unfortunately, what marijuana doesn't have is profit potential for drug
companies.

Therein lies the biggest rub of all.

Far be it for this column to counsel people -- toward whom both the
government and the doctors have turned their backs -- to break the law and
seek relief in illegal sources of marijuana. That would be disrespect for
the law, disrespect for doctors and disrespect for the federal government--
all of which are leaving a small group of vulnerable people at the extreme
edge of suffering.

We wouldn't do that. They'll have to think of ways to do that themselves,
and invite yet more court intervention. Pity.

- - Red Deer Advocate