Pubdate: Thu, 13 Jun 2013
Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 Prince George Citizen
Contact:  http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350
Author: Neil Godbout

END THE PAIN

The Conservative government needs to let go of its opposition to 
assisted suicide and medicinal marijuana.

Tom (not his real name) is a local senior furious with the federal 
government for announcing that it is getting out of the business of 
producing and distributing medicinal marijuana and it won't allow 
sick people to grow their own marijuana in the privacy of their homes.

At the moment, Tom has a licence to grow his own pot. He uses the 
drug as a sleep aid after going through a grueling 18-month treatment 
of squamous cell carninoma, a form of cancer that manifested itself 
in his throat. Tom was given three years to live four years ago and 
he insists it's the pot that let him outlive that prediction.

"I will buy it illegally," he told Citizen reporter Christine 
Hinzmann about the new rules that take effect in spring 2014. "I'm 
next to death anyway, so what are they going to do? Throw me in jail?"

What, indeed?

The subject of a longer feature by Hinzmann on local seniors who have 
tried medicinal marijuana that will appear on next Tuesday's seniors 
page, Tom is not some dude who's tricked the authorities into letting 
him smoke joints at his leisure. For starters, he doesn't smoke it 
(remember, he had throat cancer). His after-dinner butter cookie 
gives him a solid eight or nine hours of sleep each night. His cancer 
treatments saved his life but destroyed his ability to sleep without 
help. After doing his research, he decided to try pot to ease his 
suffering, he was satisfied with the results and he plans to continue using it.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq's insistence that the new rules are in 
the interests of "public safety" misses the entire point of Tom's 
argument. What does Tom's treatment for his physical suffering have 
to do with public safety? Tom doesn't expect everyone to like his 
decision but he does believe he has the right to make decisions about 
his personal well-being free from government interference.

The same logic applies to the right to die.

The Conservatives say they're going to keep a close eye on the 
proposed right-to-die legislation introduced this week in the Quebec 
legislature. Following the model already in place in three U.S. 
states, Quebec is setting out the requirements needed for a 
terminally-ill person to seek medical help to die. While euthanasia 
and assisted suicide is illegal in Canada, Quebec is arguing the 
delivery of health services is a provincial matter. The U.S. Supreme 
Court ruled in 2006 in the favour of the state of Oregon over a 
challenge from the George W. Bush government and a similar ruling 
from Canada's Supreme Court will likely be needed here.

But the legal and political dispute shouldn't overshadow the personal 
issues. Whether it's assisted suicide or taking pot to ease the pain, 
these are private matters between an individual and their physician. 
There is a distinction to be made, however, between fighting pain and 
fighting disease. The government should still maintain measures to 
protect vulnerable patients from doctors using experimental 
treatments to fight life-threatening illnesses as in the Dr. Katakkar 
case with Holly Hill last year.

The difference is that Tom isn't using marijuana to save his life, 
he's using it to ease his suffering. For the terminally ill, assisted 
suicide is simply the last and best tool to ease suffering. Pain is 
personal and when the pain becomes too much, people are right to 
demand the right to make a personal choice about how to address that 
pain, even if it's death itself.

Rather than putting up obstacles to medicinal marijuana and assisted 
suicide, the Conservative government should get to work finding the 
best way to provide both to sick Canadians. As individuals, we own 
our own pain, not the government. There is no reason why marijuana 
and assisted suicide should be excluded from the options available 
for rational adults, working closely with their doctor, to use to 
address their suffering.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom