Pubdate: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON) Copyright: 2004, Canoe Limited Partnership Contact: http://www.fyiottawa.com/ottsun.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329 Author: Canadian Press Cited: Canadians for Safe Access http://safeaccess.ca/ Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Marco+Renda Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Philippe+Lucas NOSES OUT OF JOINT OVER HEALTH CANADA'S POT Some patients are spurning a new batch of government-certified marijuana, dismissing Health Canada claims that it's a stronger, better quality smoke. "It's no good," Marco Renda, 45, said yesterday from his home in Dundalk. "I took two puffs and I put it out. "It had a chemical taste to it. It didn't taste right to me and it didn't burn properly. It had no effect." Prairie Plant Systems, which produces medical marijuana on contract for Health Canada, began shipping a second batch of its product on May 21 after getting bad reviews about the initial harvest. Users complained the first batch last summer was too dry and powdery, and seemed far less potent than the package claim of THC content at 10.2%. THC is the primary active ingredient in marijuana. Health Canada says the new batch is 12% THC, plus or minus 1.5 percentage points, has fewer leaves and twigs and more flowering tops, making it a purer smoke. 'Moisture' Complaints "We've listened to complaints ... that we've received from stakeholders about the moisture content in the product and of the potency," said Catherine Saunders, spokeswoman for Health Canada. "Informally, I've been told ... that the feedback (on the second batch) has been positive overall." But Renda, who runs a website for medical users, said that "whoever has tried it has given me the feedback that it's not worth it." And a spokesman for Canadians for Safe Access, a Victoria-based group representing medical users, is warning all patients away from the new dope at least until it completes new lab tests. "Nobody should smoke this stuff until we see test results ourselves and until we get an explanation from Health Canada about what happened with the first batch," Philippe Lucas said yesterday. "We've called right now for a moratorium on the use, research and distribution of this cannabis by all legal medical users." Lucas says his group had the first batch tested by independent labs, which found the THC content to be less than half the advertised level of 10.2%. Contaminants Eyed Internal documents from Health Canada also suggest the material contains other potentially harmful contaminants, he said. Health Canada disagrees, saying its own testing shows the marijuana has acceptably low levels of contaminants and is as potent as claimed. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake