Pubdate: Thu, 20 Mar 2014
Source: Planet S (CN SN)
Copyright: 2014 Hullabaloo Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.planetsmag.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5466
Author: Gregory Beatty

Stash Grab

HEALTH CANADA'S NEW ATTACK ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS NO TOKE

In November, Health Canada publicly outed 40,000 members of the 
medical marijuana community by sending them envelopes marked Medical 
Marihuana Access Regulations through regular mail. Typically, Health 
Canada had communicated with patients via courier with unmarked envelopes.

Health Canada attributed the gaffe - which put patients (and licensed 
growers of medical cannabis) at risk of home invasion, and also 
stigmatized them (in some circles anyway) as "pot-smokers" - to 
administrative error.

The medical marijuana community didn't buy it, though. A class action 
suit for breach of privacy was launched, and the general consensus is 
Health Canada was trying to intimidate them in advance of the MMAR 
being replaced by the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations.

That's due to happen on April 1.

Apparently all this wasn't enough for Health Canada, which has been 
belligerent to medical marijuana under Stephen Harper's famously 
anti-pot Conservative government, however. On March 14 Health Canada 
unleashed another salvo when it issued a bulletin saying MMAP 
licensees had until April 30 to provide written notice they had 
destroyed their existing supply of cannabis (or cannabis plants).

Fail to comply, the bulletin warned, and the department would notify 
"law enforcement."

"It's pretty scary because my daughter passed away a couple of years 
ago and my wife and I have custody of the children," says Robin Hove, 
an MMAP licensee who uses cannabis to control PTSD. "My family's been 
through enough already. How is this going to affect them? I know it's 
already affected me. I'm not sleeping, and I'm checking every car on 
my block I don't recognize to see if [it's the police].

"They snuck this out on a Friday, 17 days before the deadline," Hove 
adds. "They have not sent us letters. We've had no notification of 
this rule. The only reason we know is because a couple of dudes from 
Ontario and Quebec go to the Health Canada website every day to look 
for updates. Otherwise, we'd have no idea this is going down."

The new rules aren't 100 per cent terrible - one plus with the MMPR 
is that the government is making it easier to use cannabis. Before, 
you had to jump through a bunch of hoops. Now, you just need a 
prescription from a doctor or nurse practitioner.

On the supply side, though, the government is doing away with the 
right of licensees to grow their own medicine (or have a small-scale 
grower do it for them). Instead, they'll be required to buy from 
newly-licensed, large-scale commercial growers.

And that, say supporters and anyone with a basic grasp of the issue, sucks.

First off, Health Canada's track record at supplying cannabis is 
dismal. Patients are worried about the quality of the marijuana and 
whether enough strains will be produced to treat their particular ailments.

"I haven't even applied for a new license yet I'm so scared of what's 
going to happen," says Hove. "As of April 1 I have no medication. 
I've refused prescription drugs because when I was on Paxil, Zoloft 
and all that stuff, all it did is make me angry and sick, and it 
triggered PTSD effects like night terrors."

Second, it hurts sick people financially.

"They're forcing people in the system now to destroy their medication 
at the end of the month, after they've paid for it, and without 
compensation. And then you're expected to buy brand new stuff. How 
many disabled people have money they can throw away like that?"

Under the MMAP, most growers put the health of patients ahead of 
profits. Some of them are applying to get licenses under the MMRP. 
And as long as they meet Health Canada criteria related to safe and 
secure operation, they should be able to get them.

In Saskatchewan, the Green Canvas Co-op recently announced a $500,000 
financing deal with Vancouver-based Enertopia to get a 60,000 sq. ft. 
facility up and running.

Already, Enertopia has a 10,000 sq. ft facility in B.C. With the 
number of medical cannabis users expected to mushroom to 300,000 in 
the next five years, Enertopia President Robert McAllister envisions 
a robust future for his company.

"My view is it will be like the beer industry," he said at the Feb. 
28 announcement. "You'll have the biggies that pump out their beer 
and have X percentage of the market. Then you'll have the micro 
breweries with dedicated clients."

That's not a bad analogy, except we're not talking beer here (which 
you can legally brew in your basement). We're talking medicine that 
tens of thousands of Canadians rely on to relieve their suffering and 
restore their health.

The stakes are so high that an application has been made in Federal 
Court for an injunction to prevent the MMRP from taking effect. The 
case was heard on March 18, and Vancouver lawyer John Conroy expected 
the judge to render a decision by April 1.

Health Canada justifies the MMRP changes by citing reports from 
police and other agencies that the MMAP was being abused. Complaints 
range from improperly installed grow-ops being fire and mould 
hazards, to growers over-producing for the black market, to 
inconvenience and possible danger for neighbours.

Conroy doesn't think much of the evidence presented.

"When you analyze what few statistics they have, most being anecdotal 
stories, there's nothing to support the toxic mould concern. On cross 
examination, they couldn't provide any statistics on the number of 
fires in medical grows. The public safety hazard, again, I think 
there were one or two 'grow rips' that involved medical grows."

Previous court cases like R vs. Parker (Ontario Court of Appeal, 
2000) have established certain principles tied to medical cannabis. 
Because many patients are on disability, financial hardship is a 
definite concern, as is quality control, and ensuring a reliable 
supply to safeguard patient well-being.

The MMAP had been working just fine, Conroy argues, and the 
government's heavy-handed action violates patients' rights under s. 7 
of the Charter.

"On April 1, all these folks are going to be placed in a position of 
having to choose between their liberty and health. They're either 
going to be faced with being charged and have their liberty and 
security of person impacted, or they're going to have to go without 
effective medicine which impacts their health.

"That's the irreparable harm that we will argue is going to occur if 
the court doesn't [grant an injunction]."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom