Pubdate: Thu, 17 Jul 2014
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2014 Postmedia Network
Contact:  http://www.calgaryherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Marie-Danielle Smith
Page: A18

MEDICAL MARIJUANA USER, 6, RUNS AFOUL OF HEALTH CANADA RULES

OTTAWA - Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he 
was just five years old.

The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form 
of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures that last three to 
four minutes each. His condition led him to miss time during kindergarten.

Liam had 67 seizures the day before starting cannabis oil treatment. 
The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he was seizure-free, his mother says.

"He had new words," said Liam's mother, Mandy.

"He was horseback riding. He was in a boat, he went tubing. He was so 
happy. We had a little glimpse of what life could be like."

Now six years old, Liam is registered to start Grade 1 in September, 
with the help of an educational assistant and full-time nurse.

On Wednesday, he was counting characters in a children's book from 
the world of Teletubbies, and seemingly having a pretty good day. "I 
went to the park," he said. "I read a book."

During the brief interview Wednesday, he suffered a small seizure.

Even though Liam is licensed to use medical marijuana, taking it in 
extracted oil form violates Health Canada's new Marihuana for Medical 
Purposes Regulations, which came into effect April 1.

Under the regulations, the strains of marijuana that producers can 
sell are no longer restricted, making it easier to find strains high 
in CBD, the chemical that treats Liam's condition the best, but low 
in THC, a psychoactive component associated with pain relief.

However, licensed producers can only sell dried marijuana. They can't 
sell any derivative products, such as oils or foods made with marijuana.

The McKnights receive a boxed shipment of 150 grams of dried 
marijuana from Bedrocan, one of 13 licensed marijuana producers in 
Canada, each month. Turning it into the oil that Liam consumes - he 
takes about a quarter of a cup each day - is not a straightforward task.

"Health Canada says Liam has to smoke it or he has to vaporize it," 
McKnight said. "Those are our two options, that's it. So although 
they give him a licence, the form of delivery is ridiculous."

Instead, they ship the dry buds to the Montreal-based Medical 
Cannabis Access Society, where it is processed and extracted into 
coconut oil. Then, it is shipped back to the family and McKnight 
sends a sample of the batch to a laboratory in British Columbia that 
analyzes the oil's CBD and THC content so she can give Liam precise doses.

Technically, this process goes against Health Canada regulations. It 
is expensive too. Cannabis is $7.50 per gram. Extraction costs money. 
Shipping costs money. Lab work costs money.

"Financially, it's draining," McKnight said. "If we were getting an 
extraction from a licensed producer, it wouldn't cost nearly this 
much. I don't even know how long we're going to be able to sustain this."

Adam Greenblatt, the executive director of the cannabis access 
society, said he believes that as many as 60 per cent or 70 per cent 
of medical marijuana users would use derivative products if they 
could legally buy them.

"There's a huge need for these derivative products," he said, 
speculating there could even be special prescriptions for the 
products were they standardized. "It's up to Health Canada to get 
with the times."

Isaac Oommen, who works at British Columbia's Compassion Club 
Society, a cannabis advocacy organization, said that of their roughly 
9,700 members, at least 30 per cent use derivative products such as 
edibles, oils or tinctures.

About 60 per cent of incoming members are patients over the age of 
65, and among them, at least 80 per cent or 90 per cent are 
interested in using those types of products, he said.

For McKnight, who runs a Facebook page to raise awareness about 
Liam's condition, it's a matter of common sense.

"I really hope that somebody at Health Canada or somebody in this 
government just finally stands up and says, 'OK, this is ridiculous. 
We need to help these kids.'"

Health Canada did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom