GREEN THUMB POINTS TO RED TAPE

Raymond Turmel continued to question a Health Canada official in court
yesterday, hoping to demonstrate the frustration involved in qualifying for
a medical marijuana exemption.

Turmel, who is representing himself, is on trial accused of possession and
cultivation of marijuana with the intent to traffic.

Witnesses have testified the Hull resident provided marijuana to sick
individuals to ease their pain and better allow them to digest their medicine.

Cindy Cripps-Prawak, director of the office of cannabis medical access with
Health Canada, was back on the stand yesterday to explain the intricacies
of applying for an exemption to possess and cultivate marijuana for medical
purposes.

Since the beginning of 1998 leading to July 2000, when Turmel was arrested,
Cripps-Prawak said the department received 279 applications. Of those, 58
were granted, one was refused and 220 were still being processed. But
Cripps-Prawak explained most of the applications came at the end of 2000.

More people applied for the exemption as they became aware of it, she explained.