Pubdate: Thu, 31 Jan 2002
Source: Hour Magazine (CN QU)
Copyright: 2002, Communications Voir Inc.
Contact:  http://www.hour.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/971
Author: Charlie McKenzie
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada)

WAITING FOR YOUR SHARE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S 256 KILOS OF LEGAL POT?

Don't Hold Your Breath

It was meant to be a day of reckoning for Boris St-Maurice. Instead, 
Montreal's best-known marijuana advocate is yet again at the mercy of 
the courts, at least until the end of March.

St-Maurice, leader of the Marijuana Party, and Alex N=C8ron, head of 
BlocPot, were first busted Feb 10, 2000, for distributing medical 
marijuana. Judge Gilles Cadieux was supposed to render a decision in 
their case on Jan 29, but has taken more time to study the case. The 
delay is but another example of the country's slow (stoned?) wheels 
of justice.

"It's nerve-racking," commented St-Maurice on their ordeal. "Two 
years later, Alex and I are still at the mercy of Judge Cadieux. But 
on the bright side, this delay means the compassion clubs can stay 
open, at least till Ottawa gets its act together."

Despite all the talk of legalization, St-Maurice's case highlights a 
continuing problem: apparently no one knows what a sick or dying 
person has to do to get a legal joint in this country. The 
government's medical marijuana program seems stalled between 
shuffling cabinet ministers and bureaucrats.

"The real shame," St-Maurice says, "are reports that Health Canada is 
looking to delay their medical marijuana distribution yet another 
year."

Possibly true. Health Canada is currently sitting on 250 kilos of 
primo bud with 10 per cent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, direct 
from their $5 grow-op at the bottom of a Manitoba mineshaft, which 
they're seemingly in no hurry to deliver. Boris St-Maurice expressed 
concern that with former Justice Minister Anne McClellan in charge, 
Allan Rock's medical marijuana pipe dream may soon go the way of the 
roach clip.

Not so, asserts Health Canada spokesperson Andrew Swift: "A change of 
minister would have absolutely no impact on the marijuana program." 
Distribution delays are necessary, he explained, "because it's 
currently being tested to make sure that it is a safe, reliable 
strain of homogenized marijuana, suitable for medical use."

So, how long will that take?

"I couldn't say," he said. "Months, maybe more. I wouldn't put a 
deadline on it."

Though Health Canada used seeds seized from drug dealers, bikers and 
other assorted lowlifes, they didn't test their quality. Health 
Canada, said Swift, only tests the seeds to make sure that they are 
indeed marijuana.

OOO

Bad seeds or not, Brent Zettl stands proudly by his crop.

Zettl is the president of Prairie Plant Systems, which has the 
$5-million Health Canada contract to grow legal weed. Though Health 
Canada wanted a concentration of 5 per cent THC, Zettl said his pot 
has twice that.

"It's anything but weak," Zettl recently boasted. "When the 
[sanctioned medical users] get this stuff," he said, "they'll see it 
really works. It's good stuff."

That remains to be seen, but if Health Canada is seriously seeking 
ways to legitimately distribute their crop, they don't have far to 
look. "The guidelines used by the compassion clubs in Montreal and 
Vancouver offer the best means," said St-Maurice. "We proved that in 
court: government could incorporate these clubs into the national 
health plan easily. It's safe, fair, and it works."

Presently, at least one private members' bill to decriminalize 
marijuana is before parliament, as well as one parliamentary 
committee, one senate committee, and a handful of jurists at various 
levels across Canada, all studying the issue of illicit drugs - 
marijuana in particular. There is also a trio of politically charged 
marijuana cases heading for the Supreme Court later this year that 
could conceivably overturn all the marijuana laws and thus make the 
whole issue moot, but no one - least of all St-Maurice - is holding 
their breath.

Given the bureaucracy involved, meaningful marijuana reform may take 
another year, if not more. The debate has become so complex, you 
almost need a degree to keep abreast. Enter Brian Taylor, outspoken 
former mayor of Grand Forks, British Columbia, and former leader of 
the BC Marijuana Party. Taylor now teaches one of the most popular 
courses at nearby Selkirk College, appropriately called Medical 
Marijuana 101.

"Anyone who is considering applying for a Section 56 exemption to use 
marijuana for medical purposes or any 'designated grower' who may 
consider growing for a medical patient should take time for this 
course," says the school calendar.

"Anybody can sign up for it," says Taylor. "The regulations are very 
difficult to understand: we want to take the mystery out of the rules 
and of growing marijuana. We want to encourage people to grow their 
own and work within current regulations."

As well as covering Health Canada regulations, Medical Marijuana 101 
deals with basic indoor and outdoor growing techniques. "We also 
teach them what a bud looks like," said Taylor, "how to trim it, what 
you want to smoke or not smoke."

The RCMP has been invited to attend his classes, but have so far 
failed to show. "That's the marijuana issue in a nutshell," quipped 
St-Maurice. "The authorities have no class."
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MAP posted-by: Josh