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The420Guy
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The Canadian government is, officially, a drug dealer. Starting this week,
it will sell marijuana to more than 550 Canadians who have the legal right
to smoke the drug because of medical conditions such as arthritis or Aids.
The move comes six weeks after Canada angered the US by moving ahead with
plans to decriminalise the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
However, this time the federal government is makinng its move reluctantly,
and only to comply with a court ruling.
In January, the Ontario superior court gave Ottawa six months to secure a
supply of marijuana for Canadians who have been given exemption from drug
laws because they suffer from serious illnesses and can show that their
nausea and pain is relieved by the drug.
Earlier court rulings had declared that it was unconstitutional to deny ill
Canadians access to a drug that helped them.
In its latest ruling, the Ontario court said that it was wrong to put ill,
vulnerable people in the position of having to deal with criminals in order
to obtain a drug that they had been authorised to take.
The federal government is appealing that decision, and was hoping to put off
supplying marijuana while it prepared its appeal.
The court refused that request, but the government waited until the last
possible minute to announce that it was ready to supply the drug, which has
been grown in an abandoned mine in the small town of Flin Flon, Manitoba.
It will deliver the drug to doctors treating the 582 Canadians who have the
legal right to smoke it. Patients will pay $4 (=A32.50) for a gram of a
marijuana, and can also buy seeds at around $15 for a bag of 30, enabling
them to grow their own plants. That is less than the street value of
marijuana in Canada, which is generally at least twice that amount.
However, some patients are still upset, saying that legal marijuana is out
of their reach. Others see the move as a positive first step.
But this may not be a permanent programme. The federal health minister, Anne
McLellan, has signalled that the policy will be changed if the government
wins its appeal, saying: "It was never the intention for us to sell the
product."
Ms McLellan remains sceptical about the benefits of marijuana, telling
reporters: "There have been no studies anywhere in the world that have been
able to confirm medicinal benefit."
The country's doctors also remain unconvinced, and the president of the
Canadian Medical Association has urged his fellow physicians not to take
part in the programme.
The US is also unsure about Canada's new approach to marijuana, especially
the proposed legislation that would decriminalise the possession of small
amounts of the drug. Instead of getting a criminal record, which makes it
difficult to travel to the US or to get a job, people caught smoking pot
would get small fines.
Last week, a senior US official visited Ottawa to talk about a planned
border crackdown if the legislation is passed.
Canada has been in the US headlines lately because of its marijuana ruling
and plans to recognize gay marriages. A recent article in the Washington
Post dubbed Canada "Berkeley North", and said that the US appeared "fussy,
Victorian and imperial" by comparison.
The government's plans to grow and sell its own pot provide another sign of
the differences between the Liberal Canadian administration and the
Republican government of George Bush.
Email
amcilroy@globeandmail.ca
Pubdate: Monday, July 14, 2003
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Contact: letters@guardian.co.uk
Website: https://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Author: Anne McIlroy
it will sell marijuana to more than 550 Canadians who have the legal right
to smoke the drug because of medical conditions such as arthritis or Aids.
The move comes six weeks after Canada angered the US by moving ahead with
plans to decriminalise the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
However, this time the federal government is makinng its move reluctantly,
and only to comply with a court ruling.
In January, the Ontario superior court gave Ottawa six months to secure a
supply of marijuana for Canadians who have been given exemption from drug
laws because they suffer from serious illnesses and can show that their
nausea and pain is relieved by the drug.
Earlier court rulings had declared that it was unconstitutional to deny ill
Canadians access to a drug that helped them.
In its latest ruling, the Ontario court said that it was wrong to put ill,
vulnerable people in the position of having to deal with criminals in order
to obtain a drug that they had been authorised to take.
The federal government is appealing that decision, and was hoping to put off
supplying marijuana while it prepared its appeal.
The court refused that request, but the government waited until the last
possible minute to announce that it was ready to supply the drug, which has
been grown in an abandoned mine in the small town of Flin Flon, Manitoba.
It will deliver the drug to doctors treating the 582 Canadians who have the
legal right to smoke it. Patients will pay $4 (=A32.50) for a gram of a
marijuana, and can also buy seeds at around $15 for a bag of 30, enabling
them to grow their own plants. That is less than the street value of
marijuana in Canada, which is generally at least twice that amount.
However, some patients are still upset, saying that legal marijuana is out
of their reach. Others see the move as a positive first step.
But this may not be a permanent programme. The federal health minister, Anne
McLellan, has signalled that the policy will be changed if the government
wins its appeal, saying: "It was never the intention for us to sell the
product."
Ms McLellan remains sceptical about the benefits of marijuana, telling
reporters: "There have been no studies anywhere in the world that have been
able to confirm medicinal benefit."
The country's doctors also remain unconvinced, and the president of the
Canadian Medical Association has urged his fellow physicians not to take
part in the programme.
The US is also unsure about Canada's new approach to marijuana, especially
the proposed legislation that would decriminalise the possession of small
amounts of the drug. Instead of getting a criminal record, which makes it
difficult to travel to the US or to get a job, people caught smoking pot
would get small fines.
Last week, a senior US official visited Ottawa to talk about a planned
border crackdown if the legislation is passed.
Canada has been in the US headlines lately because of its marijuana ruling
and plans to recognize gay marriages. A recent article in the Washington
Post dubbed Canada "Berkeley North", and said that the US appeared "fussy,
Victorian and imperial" by comparison.
The government's plans to grow and sell its own pot provide another sign of
the differences between the Liberal Canadian administration and the
Republican government of George Bush.
amcilroy@globeandmail.ca
Pubdate: Monday, July 14, 2003
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Contact: letters@guardian.co.uk
Website: https://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Author: Anne McIlroy
