Pubdate: Fri, 21 Dec 2012
Source: Peterborough This Week (CN ON)
Copyright: Metroland Printing, Publishing and Distributing
Contact: http://www.mykawartha.com/generalform
Website: http://www.mykawartha.com/community/peterborough
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1794
Author: Joel Wiebe

PROPOSED POT LAW CHANGES MEET RESISTANCE

Not Everyone Is Happy With Changes The Federal Government Is Making For
Medicinal Marijuana Use

(PETERBOROUGH) When it comes to medicinal marijuana, it's not just
that it helped Vycki Fleming reduce her meds from 17 prescriptions to
one.

Or that she's no longer being regularly hospitalized or even that it's
the one medication she has found that allows her to live a relatively
normal life.

She can grow it. And that means she can afford it.

The new regulations from the federal government, she explains through
tears, would put an end to that.

The government claims the changes are in the best interests of
people's health and safety.

The plan is to no longer allow people to grow marijuana in their
homes, requiring people with marijuana prescriptions to buy their meds
from an authorized producer.

The government is also aiming to reduce red tape by treating marijuana
more like other medical narcotics by allowing doctors to sign a
document similar to a prescription that can be use to buy the
medication, rather than having annual licenses issued through Health
Canada.

A press release states that the program has grown from less than 500
authorized users in 2002 to more than 26,000 today, resulting in
unintended consequences for public health, safety and security by
allowing people to produce it in their own homes.

In the press release, the president of the Canadian Association of
Fire Chiefs states one in 22 grow operations, legal or not, catch
fire, which is 24 times higher than the average home.

The $5 per gram Health Canada charges for people to buy from it is
heavily subsidized, claims the government.

The plan is to have the new laws in place by March 31,
2014.

The public is able to comment on the plans until Feb. 28,
2013.

Part of what angers Ms Fleming is that legal medicinal marijuana users
are regularly lumped in with criminals. She's confident that legal
users are taking extra precautions to make their home safe.

She spent more than $30,000 on equipment for a facility to grow her
marijuana in and do it safely. Soon that investment will have been a
waste unless the government compensates people for having to buy grow
equipment.

There's no government subsidies available to cover the medication
costs, which she figures will steer people back toward opioids.

When she was taking 17 different medications, she says it was costing
$30,000 a year. She was also seeing seven specialists, but now there's
just one.

"I no longer cost society $50,000 a year," she states.

She knows she'll be sick for the rest of her life, but says she wants
to live life to the fullest.

While she encourages better access to medicinal marijuana, she's
worried the changes will actually make it more difficult. She says
many doctors are already hesitant to prescribe medicinal marijuana
which must then be approved by Health Canada. If all the
responsibility is put on doctors, she worries they will be even more
hesitant.

"I really don't think anybody thought about this," she
says.

There are also other issues. There is more than one kind of
marijuana.

The type that's most effective for Ms. Fleming takes longer to mature
and has a lower yield than other types, so she doubts a profit-driven
company would grow it.

Ms. Fleming also grows hers organically and uses every part of the
plant.

She says the government should be thrilled people are growing their
medication since it isn't subsidized.

She knows the system needs changes, especially since licensed users
often have to wait months after their annual licences expire before
new ones are issued by Health Canada and Ms. Fleming says there's
still a lot of stigma around its use.

She's hoping the new rules will have some changes before being brought
in, but she says there's already a class-action lawsuit against the
federal government in the works. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D