WAITING FOR YOUR SHARE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S 256 KILOS OF LEGAL POT?

Don't Hold Your Breath

It was meant to be a day of reckoning for Boris St-Maurice. Instead,
Montreal's best-known marijuana advocate is yet again at the mercy of
the courts, at least until the end of March.

St-Maurice, leader of the Marijuana Party, and Alex N=C8ron, head of
BlocPot, were first busted Feb 10, 2000, for distributing medical
marijuana. Judge Gilles Cadieux was supposed to render a decision in
their case on Jan 29, but has taken more time to study the case. The
delay is but another example of the country's slow (stoned?) wheels
of justice.

"It's nerve-racking," commented St-Maurice on their ordeal. "Two
years later, Alex and I are still at the mercy of Judge Cadieux. But
on the bright side, this delay means the compassion clubs can stay
open, at least till Ottawa gets its act together."

Despite all the talk of legalization, St-Maurice's case highlights a
continuing problem: apparently no one knows what a sick or dying
person has to do to get a legal joint in this country. The
government's medical marijuana program seems stalled between
shuffling cabinet ministers and bureaucrats.

"The real shame," St-Maurice says, "are reports that Health Canada is
looking to delay their medical marijuana distribution yet another
year."

Possibly true. Health Canada is currently sitting on 250 kilos of
primo bud with 10 per cent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, direct
from their $5 grow-op at the bottom of a Manitoba mineshaft, which
they're seemingly in no hurry to deliver. Boris St-Maurice expressed
concern that with former Justice Minister Anne McClellan in charge,
Allan Rock's medical marijuana pipe dream may soon go the way of the
roach clip.

Not so, asserts Health Canada spokesperson Andrew Swift: "A change of
minister would have absolutely no impact on the marijuana program."
Distribution delays are necessary, he explained, "because it's
currently being tested to make sure that it is a safe, reliable
strain of homogenized marijuana, suitable for medical use."

So, how long will that take?

"I couldn't say," he said. "Months, maybe more. I wouldn't put a
deadline on it."

Though Health Canada used seeds seized from drug dealers, bikers and
other assorted lowlifes, they didn't test their quality. Health
Canada, said Swift, only tests the seeds to make sure that they are
indeed marijuana.

OOO

Bad seeds or not, Brent Zettl stands proudly by his crop.

Zettl is the president of Prairie Plant Systems, which has the
$5-million Health Canada contract to grow legal weed. Though Health
Canada wanted a concentration of 5 per cent THC, Zettl said his pot
has twice that.

"It's anything but weak," Zettl recently boasted. "When the
[sanctioned medical users] get this stuff," he said, "they'll see it
really works. It's good stuff."

That remains to be seen, but if Health Canada is seriously seeking
ways to legitimately distribute their crop, they don't have far to
look. "The guidelines used by the compassion clubs in Montreal and
Vancouver offer the best means," said St-Maurice. "We proved that in
court: government could incorporate these clubs into the national
health plan easily. It's safe, fair, and it works."

Presently, at least one private members' bill to decriminalize
marijuana is before parliament, as well as one parliamentary
committee, one senate committee, and a handful of jurists at various
levels across Canada, all studying the issue of illicit drugs -
marijuana in particular. There is also a trio of politically charged
marijuana cases heading for the Supreme Court later this year that
could conceivably overturn all the marijuana laws and thus make the
whole issue moot, but no one - least of all St-Maurice - is holding
their breath.

Given the bureaucracy involved, meaningful marijuana reform may take
another year, if not more. The debate has become so complex, you
almost need a degree to keep abreast. Enter Brian Taylor, outspoken
former mayor of Grand Forks, British Columbia, and former leader of
the BC Marijuana Party. Taylor now teaches one of the most popular
courses at nearby Selkirk College, appropriately called Medical
Marijuana 101.

"Anyone who is considering applying for a Section 56 exemption to use
marijuana for medical purposes or any 'designated grower' who may
consider growing for a medical patient should take time for this
course," says the school calendar.

"Anybody can sign up for it," says Taylor. "The regulations are very
difficult to understand: we want to take the mystery out of the rules
and of growing marijuana. We want to encourage people to grow their
own and work within current regulations."

As well as covering Health Canada regulations, Medical Marijuana 101
deals with basic indoor and outdoor growing techniques. "We also
teach them what a bud looks like," said Taylor, "how to trim it, what
you want to smoke or not smoke."

The RCMP has been invited to attend his classes, but have so far
failed to show. "That's the marijuana issue in a nutshell," quipped
St-Maurice. "The authorities have no class."