Pubdate: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC) Copyright: 2014 Prince George Citizen Contact: http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350 Author: Christine Hinzmann MEDICAL WEED CHANGES MAY FORCE USERS TO THE STREET A Prince George man who legally grows his own marijuana for medical purposes is furious with the federal government's plan to take away his licence on April 1. The man believes many of the people like him will simply go underground, instead of buying from approved government suppliers. "The 37,000 people who grow it and use it now won't be buying it from the government," said Tom (not his real name), a 65-year-old man who has been using marijuana for three years to manage anxiety and to help him sleep after successfully battling throat cancer. "We are pensioners, on disability, on fixed incomes, and simply can't afford to buy from the government." Tom was first featured in The Citizen in June 2013, when the government first announced its plan. Tom is licenced for up to 25 plants but he only grows about half of that. Using the pot he grows in his garage, he makes marijuana-infused butter for use in cookie recipes. He eats one cookie each evening to help him sleep and insists he wouldn't be alive today without medical marijuana. Tom said it costs him about $1,000 a year for electricity and equipment by growing what he needs at home. He believes his costs will rise to about $7,500 to access government-issued marijuana in the dosage he requires, which he said is minimal. Tom said he has done his research and the government strain contains about 12 per cent THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana ). The marijuana he grows is at 20 per cent THC. "(I would need to take) roughly a gram and a half a day, and they want $7 a gram at about 12 per cent strength," said Tom. "If I have one and a half grams, it's really equal to three of their grams for strength, so that's $21 a day, let's go by 30 days and that equals $630 a month and then times that by 12 that's $7,560 a year and you tell me - I'm a pensioner - how do I afford that? I don't have enough pension a month to cover that and I don't believe others do either." The government recently stated in a news release the federal medical marijuana program has seriously compromised the goal of providing the drug to patients while ensuring public safety. As of late January, about 70 strains of medical marijuana are available from licenced producers for as little as $5 a gram. Tom disputes this number, saying $7 a gram is a more realistic number and believes it will increase over time. "I believe it's a short-sighted policy and it comes down to economics," said Tom. "What they are asking for their product and the strength of their product, people are just not going to buy because they can grow it cheaper themselves. If you're putting a dollar value on it, you can go out on the street and buy it much cheaper than what the government is offering. So it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense." Tom rejects how the government has defended the coming changes, arguing that growing marijuana at home poses hazards including mould, fire, toxic chemicals and the threat of home invasion by criminals. He also dismissed another fact he read recently from the government that between 30 and 40 people licenced to grow medical marijuana have been arrested for abusing the right. "Out of 37,000 people that is a very small number. You have to put it in perspective." Tom doesn't think the government will be able to enforce the changes in the law. He said in the several years he's been growing his own medical marijuana, there has never been an inspection done. "I believe a lot of people won't even pay attention to the changes," said Tom, who said he will follow the law and stop growing his own. "I believe it's going to be a constitutional challenge and I don't think the government is going to prevail. I think this is going to put them in a very poor position for the upcoming election." Tom said he won't be buying the government's product and will consider buying it off the street. "What I require is minimal, what's going to happen with all the other people who require much more? The government is putting everybody in a bad position." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom