Pubdate: Thu, 12 Sep 2002
Source: NOW Magazine (Canada)
Copyright: 2002 NOW Communications Inc.
Contact:  http://www.nowtoronto.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/282
Author: Wayne Phillips

WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP

Brian Martinka claims, "it's blatantly clear that the ill are being used by 
the pot lobby to achieve their objective of making marijuana widely 
accessible for all."

As a part-time caregiver to a few who are physically challenged and use 
cannabis to alleviate the ravages of conditions such as MS, I find this a 
patently absurd and crass insult.

Dr. Patrick Smith of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health told the 
Senate special committee on illegal drugs that "if we discovered three 
drugs today and they were alcohol, tobacco and marijuana, there isn't an 
expert in the country who would recommend that marijuana be the one banned 
based on individual and societal harm."Martinka should also be aware of the 
fact that thousands of bona fide medical practitioners would, as he not so 
eloquently put it, call that crap a "medicine."

Wayne Phillips

Hamilton
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