Pubdate: Thu, 05 Jul 2001
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2001 The New York Times Company
Contact:  http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Tom Cohen, The Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada)

CANADA UNVEILS NEW MARIJUANA RULES

TORONTO (AP) -- New regulations expanding the legal use of medical 
marijuana will allow people with terminal or debilitating illnesses to 
possess and cultivate pot, or designate someone to do it for them.

But the Canadian Medical Association opposed the rules announced Wednesday, 
saying that too little is known about the possible harm from the drug.

The guidelines take effect July 30, meeting a court-ordered deadline for 
the government to create the regulatory system.

"Today's announcement is a landmark in our ongoing effort to give Canadians 
suffering from grave and debilitating illnesses access to marijuana for 
medical purposes," Health Minister Allan Rock said. "This compassionate 
measure will improve the quality of life of sick Canadians, particularly 
those who are terminally ill."

The regulations create categories of people who could possess marijuana, 
including those with specified terminal illnesses with a prognosis of death 
within one year and others with symptoms associated with serious medical 
conditions. The second category would include patients with severe 
arthritis, cancer, HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis.

"These regulations are placing Canadian physicians and their patients in 
the precarious position of attempting to access a product that has not gone 
through the normal protocols of rigorous pre-market testing," said Dr. Hugh 
Scully, past president of the Canadian Medical Association, which 
represents 50,000 physicians.

The regulations were drawn up after a court ruling last year that gave the 
government until July 31 to change criminal laws so that people requiring 
marijuana for medicinal purposes could legally obtain and possess it.

Canada already has a legal industry for hemp -- cannabis cultivated with 
very low amounts of the chemical that produces the high sought by marijuana 
smokers -- while the U.S. federal government prohibits hemp production.

The Canadian Supreme Court also has agreed to consider a case that argues 
criminalizing marijuana is unconstitutional because the drug poses no 
significant health threat.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens