Pubdate: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 Source: National Post (Canada) Copyright: 2010 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/O3vnWIvC Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286 Author: Dr. David Saul Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n115/a10.html UNDERSTAFFING DELAYS MEDICAL POT Re: 'For Everyone's Sake, Regulate and Legalize It,' letters to the editor, Feb. 11. As a medical doctor and an advocate of legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, I have to disagree with Carl Anderson's letter about the "terribly flawed" medical marijuana system in Canada. The "system" for obtaining medical marijuana access from Health Canada is solely between the patient and the doctor. Health Canada's Medicinal Marijuana Access Program (MMAP) is not poorly planned or run in bad faith. It is however understaffed, and that results in a 16-week delay in processing the initial enrollment forms. But the approval for my patients to obtain, use, grow or designate a grower is guaranteed when I sign my name to the form. The issue with cannabis or any drug MDs prescribe becomes a clinical medical decision and no one at the MMAP can ever interfere with that. Dr. David Saul, Toronto. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart