Marijuana Advocate Slams New Pot Rules

[Ganjarden]

Medicinal marijuana advocates on Vancouver Island believe new federal regulations announced this week on growing the controversial plants are "unacceptable."

Richard Payne, a member of the Mid-Island Compassion Society that set up in Nanaimo last year to provide medicinal marijuana, said the change in regulations that now allow designated medical marijuana producers to supply two approved users, instead of one, will not make it easier for the society to supply its 12 approved users in the region.

Philippe Lucas, executive-director of Victoria's Vancouver Island Compassion Club, said Health Canada's decision "borders on contempt of court."

"Courts have found the government's medicinal marijuana regulations unconstitutional in five cases over the past five years and I expect that, as a result of this new and inadequate policy, the government will find itself in court over the issue again very soon," Lucas said.

"Health Canada appears to be unable and unwilling to serve the needs of those who need it in this country."

The national medical cannabis program has been plagued with problems since its inception, with reports of contamination, low potency and inflated prices.

Health Canada has never been able to sell its cannabis, grown by Prairie Plant Systems of Flin Flon, Man., to more than 20% of all licensed medical users in Canada.

Each government-approved private grower has been limited in the number of plants they can grow as well as being limited to supplying the needs of no more than one approved user.

But in February, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg concluded the regulations were unconstitutional and gave Ottawa one year to fix them so compassion clubs or producers can get together and run a common marijuana-growing operation.

Payne said legal medicinal marijuana supplies under the government's stringent regulations are hard to connect with, and the ones who suffer are those who need it to deal with their medical conditions.


News Hawk- Ganjarden http://www.420Magazine.com
Source: Calgary Herald
Author: Robert Barron
Contact: Calgary Herald
Copyright: 2009 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Website: Marijuana Advocate Slams New Pot Rules

[michaelkaer]

Harper has done everything in his power to steal the medicine out of the hands of cancer patients,people with MS and Crohns... He has no problem allowing the synthetic form of THC to be administered in pill form because it works so/so and The clients can not get high on it. it does not matter that it does not work for many and it is a bad delivery system for the drug to get into a patient in pain. It takes about an hour to start working. With medical MJ, a couple of hits is all you need and your pain goes away very quickly. You end up using far less. If you grow your own, the medicine is almost free. The pill form is hundreds of dollars every month.

[sicntired]

It's all on one man.Stephen Harper.He may have a few born again buddies in his cabinet but the Canadian people have spoken out in favor of legal pot for years.Harper is against everything our country stands for.It's just a matter of time till the rest of the country wakes up to what he's all about.

[michaelkaer]

Harper is so easy to bash, he brings it on to himself. I do not see any change happening till he is out of office and that is soon. In the states the polls are getting higher than ever. Outright full legalization is at about 50% is what most polls are showing. I do not have the numbers in Canada, but I bet they are high. What big brother does, little sister will follow and do and so will the rest of the world.

[sicntired]

Latest figures nation wide place the pro legalization vote at 56%.We were doing so well and had so many really good programs in place here.All that changed with the electing of the conservative minority.Every time we have a conservative government it's the same old BS.Bring back the death penalty,toughen up each and every law on the books and the economy goes straight in the tank.Who votes for these hacks?People that respond to fear and propaganda.IN short,morons.They don't even pretend to understand the science.They just quote the bible a lot and pass laws accordingly.