Pubdate: Thu, 08 Apr 2010 Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU) Copyright: 2010 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/letters.html Website: http://www.montrealgazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274 Author: Rene Bruemmer COMPASSION AT $10 A GRAM Pot Shop; Lachine Club Not Aiding Sick, Neighbours Say A recently opened "compassion centre" in Lachine that purports to sell medical marijuana to the ill is sowing discord among neighbours and local merchants who say it's attracting hordes of healthy-looking young buyers. "No one going into that place is in need of compassion," said the owner of a business on Notre Dame St., around the corner from the Culture 420 Compassion Centre on 15th Ave. "They're running in and running out all the time. "I wouldn't mind if it was legal, but it's so obvious it's not. I mean, really, you have to go upstairs to get in. There isn't even wheelchair access." Merchants complain that buyers loiter in front of their stores, deterring customers and taking parking spaces in a part of a borough that's already economically depressed. Using or growing marijuana for certain medical conditions has been legal under federal law since 2001, but selling it is not. Compassion club operators, however, say having patients go the legal route through Health Canada to buy marijuana is difficult and can take years, forcing many to suffer needlessly. "We have something called a duty to provide for people's needs (for therapeutic cannabis), and sometimes they're life-sustaining needs," Culture 420 co-founder Pavlos Papadakis said yesterday. A steady stream of young men and the occasional woman flowed in and out of the small office of two desks, a computer and a radio softly playing heavy metal music this week as phones rang constantly. The 15 or so volunteers dispensed marijuana and advised customers in both official languages how to become members. The centre says it's a non-profit concern that donates any extra funds to charity. Open nearly three months, it already has 1,000 members. About 200 people come through a day, Papadakis said, although local merchants said the volume is much higher on Fridays and Saturdays, and near the end of the month, when welfare cheques arrive "It got busy really fast," said one storeowner, who, like all the merchants interviewed, asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. "At least they took the prices out of the window." To be eligible to buy marijuana, applicants must submit a form signed by a doctor attesting they have a condition or symptoms treatable with cannabis - for example, pain from AIDS or arthritis. The centre calls the doctor to verify, Papadakis said. The club will also accept a written declaration that the applicant suffers from chronic pain as long as it's sworn to and stamped by a notary; Papadakis said Culture 420's lawyers have assured club operators that makes it legal. The form is available on the club's website. Local residents say there's a notary down the street willing to sign it. Business owners and neighbours have started at least two petitions calling for the centre's ouster. The owners have tried to meet their demands, hiring security to try to keep the streets clear, but merchants say it hasn't helped. They discount Papadakis's claim Culture 420 is bringing new customers to the area, saying it's a clientele not interested in haircuts, pastries or flowers. Others worry the centre, connected to a pastry shop and near a daycare, could be the target of a firebombing by dope dealers who don't appreciate competition. Culture 420 sells more than a dozen varieties of marijuana - either cultivated onsite or purchased from growers - for street-market prices of about $10 a gram. Co-founder Gary Webber was the victim of a violent break-in at his Dorval home in March. His assailants told him they were unhappy he was selling in Lachine. Culture 420 (the number is a popular code word for the cannabis subculture) is one of two so-called compassion clubs in Montreal operating in a legal grey zone. The other is the Compassion Club of Montreal in the Plateau Mont Royal district; it has been open since 1999 and also has about 1,000 members. It requires medical documentation for membership. In 2002, a Quebec Court judge acquitted its president, Marc-Boris St-Maurice, of drug trafficking while he volunteered at the Compassion Club, which St-Maurice said meant he could continue to provide the drug to suffering patients. "Compassion clubs are illegal," Health Canada media adviser Stephane Shank said in an email. "The only organization that can legally supply marijuana seeds and dried marijuana is the government of Canada." Police will turn a blind eye, however, to establishments seen to be providing a legitimate service. But not all. A club in Toronto was raided last week after complaints of alleged drug offences. Lachine borough mayor Claude Dauphin said the borough and the police - - whose station is half a block from Culture 420 - are looking at the situation "very carefully." "If it's a matter of compassion, we're in favour of that, but I don't think it's a matter of compassion," he said. "I've seen kids between 15 and 20 years old going in there." The borough will be issuing tickets because the centre hasn't obtained a permit to occupy its current premises, which could also lead to a court date. And police will be following up, Dauphin said. The centre is trying to ease some of the tension by moving to a larger building six blocks away, at the corner of Notre Dame St. and 9th Ave. with parking in back, Papadakis said. He vowed the centre would not be closed without a legal fight. "If they shut us down, 1,000 people who have a medical need would have that taken away from them - which means their constitutional rights of life, liberty and the spirit of the person would be violated, and those rights are much greater than anybody's perceived negative effects." The Culture 420 Compassion Centre's website is www.culture420.com HOW TO LEGALLY GET MEDICAL MARIJUANA FROM THE GOVERNMENT A person who wishes to obtain an authorization to possess and/or a licence to produce marijuana for medical purposes must apply to Health Canada in writing. Once all the requirements of the Medical Marijuana Access Regulations are met, including the requirement for the signature of a physician, a person will be authorized to possess and/or produce dried marijuana for medical purposes. An authorized person has the following three options for obtaining a supply of dried marijuana: accessing Health Canada's supply of dried marijuana; obtaining a personal-use production licence to grow for himself/herself; or obtaining a designated-person production licence that designates another person to cultivate marijuana on their behalf. As of Jan. 14, 2010, 4869 people hold an authorization to possess dried marijuana under the MMAR in Canada. For more information, visit: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/ marihuana/ Health Canada Text POT123 to 11-2-11 to save or share this story. Standard text messaging rates apply. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart