Pubdate: Mon, 01 Feb 2016
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Joe Fiorito
Page: GT2

CLOUD OF SMOKE OBSCURES CANNABIS DEBATE

I have some chocolates. They have certain properties. A while ago, I
was hit with a sudden, inexplicable, profoundly crushing sadness. Oh,
well, sadness is normal, even welcome at times. But not like this. I
didn't want to call her; nothing she could do. I didn't want to walk
over to the hospital; I've seen Cuckoo's Nest. But then I thought
about depression and the uses of cannabis.

Half an hour and a sliver of chocolate later and I was flooded with
wellness, the sort you get in spring, in the early afternoon, when the
sun is warm and soft on your cheek. A quick note; I was not high. Not
that there's anything wrong with that. I have been high pleasantly in
my time. But here, all I wanted was relief, and not euphoria.

And this, in a nutshell, is the issue at the heart of the current
discussion about cannabis: there are two legitimate uses for the
stuff; one is recreational, and the other is medical, or therapeutic.
Hold that thought. The leaders of the medical marijuana movement have
been, and continue to be women. I went to a panel discussion some
months back, the subject of which was the experience of women as
leaders in the move toward legalization.

The panellists were from all over the country; some work for
commercial growers; others were social workers and activists, and some
were involved in the first compassion clubs.

They all had stories to tell. And while anecdotal evidence is not
scientific, at some point the weight of the narrative is such that it
cannot be ignored.

Hilary Black, a panellist, founded the first medical cannabis
dispensary in Canada, nearly 20 years ago, in Vancouver. She recalled
an incident from the early days:

"A woman kept phoning; she was in her 60s; arthritic, bedridden, she
hadn't been out of bed for three months. I went to see her. She had a
joint, and she started stretching, and then she went into the kitchen
and made tea, and she was crying because she hadn't been able to."
Yes, and at that time both she and Hilary would have been breaking the
law.

Here's a question: where should that woman get her cannabis today? At
the liquor store, with the lotuseaters? Or at a dispensary, with a
prescription?

Another panellist, a woman who had been an addictions counsellor, now
works as a breeder for a commercial grower. She said, "I develop
strains for every ailment."

I remind you there is not just cannabis, there is sativa and indica,
and there are hybrid strains within each; their effects are different,
as they can be bred for strength or other properties. Here's a
question: if we distribute marijuana through the liquor stores, will
clerks be trained in medical use the same way they are trained to know
which white wine works best with roast pork? And then there was Mandy
McKnight.

Her youngest child, at one time, was enduring as many as 70 grand mal
seizures a day. "He couldn't walk, talk, eat; he was comatose, seizing
all day." No medication helped until cannabis. The effects were
apparent within 24 hours. "He's now walking, talking, playing,
swimming - it's unbelievable. It's been two years." Mandy said, "It's
a treatment he has a right to try. He still has seizures, but they're
shorter. He recuperates faster."

And all of this is personal, sometimes in unforeseen ways. Mandy's
other child is in grade school; kids tease about pot use at home.

Back to Hilary, who was in the forefront of the movement and is
zealous to this day. She piped up and said, based on a lifetime of
impassioned advocacy, "I've been told I'm difficult to date." People
laughed; she did not. And so I circle back to the point: in
anticipation of legalization, big business is gearing up; small
growers and individual licences are at risk; dispensaries are being
hassled by the cops and the question of distribution remains thorny.

The use of liquor control boards might make sense on the surface, but
are booze and cannabis really a good mix? Should a medical user really
have to go to the liquor store?

Should medical users be subject to the same taxes as recreational
users? If all marijuana is sold at liquor stores, will staff be
trained in the medical efficacy of the products? Where might edibles
such as my chocolate be sold? And when will we be able to calculate
the strength of the product, the way we do with alcohol?

Finally - at least for the moment - here's one of those odd little
side issues: if we treat cannabis the same way we treat alcohol,
shouldn't I have the right to grow some pot at home, the same way I am
allowed to brew wine and beer?

It's tricky. It is supposed to be tricky. Oh, well, we are clever. Me?
I'd take my advice from the pioneers. However, if we don't get it
right, then I'll really be depressed.