Pubdate: Thu, 06 Feb 2014
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 The Ottawa Citizen
Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Hugh Adami

MARIJUANA GROWING PAINS

Pot Merchant Says He's Not Just Blowing Smoke

Robert Callaghan says there have been growing pains with his Medical 
Marijuana Service, a business where people meet with a doctor to 
acquire pot legally for various chronic and terminal conditions.

But Callaghan says he is buoyed by the response for his service and 
that 25 people in the Ottawa area now have legal access to pot 
because of it. He acknowledges he started MMS to make money - the 
client fee can be as much as $600 - but says helping people cope with 
pain and other symptoms from serious illnesses is a major goal. "It's 
the right thing to do."

Callaghan, 45, says he hopes laws governing medical marijuana will be 
relaxed to the point where MMS and similar services will actually go 
out of business. But for now, he says, operations like his are far 
too few in Canada. For the most part, Canadian doctors are tepid when 
it comes to the Health Canada-run cannabis health program, introduced 
in 2001, and many refuse to sign the declarations patients need to qualify.

Callaghan says marijuana is a "benign" drug. But medical 
associations, including the College of Physicians and Surgeons of 
Ontario, say adequate studies to prove marijuana is effective in 
treating medical conditions have yet to be done. The college is also 
concerned about the adverse effects of marijuana use, such as those 
associated with smoking. It says physicians are not obligated to 
participate. If they do, they "are advised to proceed with caution."

Callaghan moved to Ottawa from Toronto about six months ago, and MMS 
began operation on Oct. 31. His profits have been meagre so far, he 
says, and he is now working at a ski resort in Whistler, B.C., until 
spring, to supplement his income. Expenses have been high, he says. A 
couple of "associates" are overseeing MMS.

There have been other issues. He got into hot water after Health 
Canada spotted its logo in one of his ads in a commuter newspaper. He 
was sent a cease-and-desist order for unauthorized use of the logo, 
and told he had contravened the Trade-marks Act. The paper was also 
ordered to publish a notice that MMS was not associated with Health Canada.

He is also in trouble with one of his clients. Though Joyce Maria 
Sarroino, 72, was skeptical when she saw the same ad, she eventually 
contacted MMS. Her doctor would not sign the declaration needed by 
Health Canada, but provided a letter, detailing Sarroino's various 
maladies, which include arthritis and fibromyalgia. Sarroino says she 
wants to stop taking prescription drugs, and believes marijuana would 
do a better job to manage pain without the side effects. She says she 
was turned on to the drug during her McGill University days in the 1960s.

Instead of medical marijuana, Sarroino says, all she got was a bunch 
of excuses from Callaghan. First, her document had not been filled 
out properly by the MMS doctor. Then her second application was lost. 
For at least two weeks, Sarroino had been demanding that Callaghan 
return the $250 he charged her. And, she says, she wants nothing more 
to do with MMS. Sarroino came across a cheque for $300 from Callaghan 
- - $50 more than she gave him - in her mailbox late Wednesday. He says 
he will still try to help get her a medical marijuana permit from 
Health Canada.

Two other clients, contacted by the Citizen, spoke well of MMS, 
saying they were approved for medical marijuana within a few weeks. 
They are both in their mid-20s and sought pot to alleviate pain.

Callaghan lines up prospective patients with a Toronto psychiatrist, 
Dr. Henry Moller. Moller, who grew up in Ottawa and met Callaghan 
while both were University of Toronto students, has made a few 
weekend trips here to meet MMS applicants at a ByWard Market hotel. 
If patients can prove their maladies - usually with a letter from 
another doctor - and Moller is satisfied that pot will help them, he 
signs the declaration that goes to Health Canada. He also prescribes 
a daily dosage. Once the application is approved, patients can either 
get their marijuana from Health Canada, grow it themselves, or 
appoint a designated grower. (New rules take effect April 1 when 
medical marijuana users start dealing directly with licensed 
marijuana grow ops. Users will still need a signed document from a 
doctor but will no longer require a Health Canada permit.)

Callaghan says he pays Moller a "per diem" to meet with MMS clients.

Moller says his decision to help people get legal access to the drug 
came after thoroughly studying the issue. For people requiring 
treatment to reduce pain, anxiety and other medical symptoms, he 
says, marijuana "works, it really does work." Moller also travels to 
the Simcoe Holistic Health clinic in Barrie to see prospective 
patients there. MMS and the Barrie clinic are loosely affiliated.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom