Pubdate: Tue, 18 Aug 2015
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2015 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Phil Tank
Page: A1

COUNCIL BACKS MARIJUANA CLINIC RULES

Medicinal Pot Dispensary Now Open

After four months of planning and preparation, Saskatoon's first 
medicinal marijuana dispensary is now open for business.

The Saskatchewan Compassion Club opened its doors to the public on 
Monday. For many, like Mandy Tarala, the new dispensary will offer a 
way to fill medical pot prescriptions quickly and easily.

"It's going to be absolutely huge for me in the aspect that I no 
longer have to wait for my medicine (and) I don't have to order it 
online," Tarala said. "Also, I have some support (locally) - that way 
I'm not waiting for an email back or waiting on hold."

Tarala suffers from a rare chronic skin disease called Hidradenitis 
Suppurativa, which creates large and painful boils under her skin 
that lead to open wounds in the area of her groin, thighs and part of 
her buttocks. She said she's been trying to treat the disease without 
success for about eight years. "They told me about a year ago, prior 
to starting Cannabis oil for my treatment, that I would have had to 
go to the Mayo Clinic for skin surgery," she said, noting doctors 
planned to give her skin grafts on all the affected areas.

"I wasn't quite ready for that; it's a pretty big step, so I started 
doing some research, looked into Cannabis oil and started the 
treatment," she said. "Within about three months, all of my wounds 
healed up, so it was kind of amazing."

She applies a mixture of cannabis oil and coconut oil to her wounds, 
and also eats cannabis oil as part of her treatment.

She said she had to pitch the idea to her doctor and getting a 
prescription was no easy task.

Now, she feels she has someone to turn to with questions or concerns.

"It's nice to have somebody to ask questions to instead of relying on 
everything on the Internet," Tarala said, noting she was 
cross-referencing online articles constantly, looking for consistent 
information.

"Having somebody who has got experience with this, somebody who's 
willing to put themselves out there, is huge," she said.

City council's planning, development and community service committee 
voted Monday to have city staff report back on possible regulations 
to govern medical marijuana dispensaries.

"This is an emerging issue that is important for us to get on top of 
as soon as possible and to be as proactive as possible," Coun. Pat 
Lorje said at the meeting.

Mark Hauk, head of the Saskatchewan Compassion Club, said Monday he 
was pleased to get a supportive reception from city council.

"I was certainly hopeful that we could get the support of at least 
one councillor, and I think we've got a couple on board," Hauk said 
after speaking to the committee and answering questions.

"We help fill the gaps of a dysfunctional federal program," he told 
the meeting. "Creating smart regulations just makes sense."

Hauk said 240 similar dispensaries are already operating in Canada, 
all of which are "technically illegal."

Lorje asked about the possibility of coming up with rules similar to 
those Saskatoon has applied to the sex trade; they restrict certain 
businesses to industrial areas.

Hauk said it's important for his business to be centrally located and 
easy to access, since many of the people needing its help do not own 
vehicles and rely on public transportation.

"For a lot of people, this is their first time using cannabis," Hauk 
said, adding the compassion club has about 1,000 local patients.

He said the dispensary stores its products in a safe and only a 
"very, very minimal amount" is kept on the premises.

"I think this is great to see," said Coun. Troy Davies, whose motion 
to investigate regulations was supported unanimously. It is expected 
to get final approval at Thursday's city council meeting.

While it may have the backing of some members of city council and 
patients, some residents of British Columbia, where the dispensaries 
have become common, are expressing concerns.

Pamela McColl, a Vancouver-member of the non-profit group Smart 
Approaches to Marijuana Canada (SAM Canada), said that the only 
method people should use to access the medicine is through the 
federal government, which distributes the drug through the mail.

McColl said the people who run dispensaries make false claims about 
the benefits of marijuana, which she feels could have a lasting 
negative impact.

"That would be our one concern, the lack of education of the people 
selling it and the false claims they're making of benefit, which 
could actually deter someone from actually finding and seeking 
suitable medical attention for a condition," she said.

McColl said her group also has concerns about where the medicinal 
marijuana comes from, and whether or not the cannabis is tested for 
pesticides and other contaminants.

"People who have HIV and different immune suppressed disorders are 
very much at risk of obtaining marijuana that is contaminated with 
bacteria and getting ill," she said.

"There are people that some of the dispensaries would say that 
they're trying to help, they're providing marijuana that is not 
regulated and tested."

Mayor Don Atchison also asked that the matter be referred to the 
board of police commissioners.

City administrators are expected to report back on possible 
regulations by October.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom