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Pubdate: Sun, 06 Nov 2005 Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Copyright: 2005, Canoe Limited Partnership Contact: http://www.canoe.com/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135 Author: Doyg Beazley, Edmonton Sun Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) CANNABIS OIL COMING It Won't Get You High but Product Said to Be Great For Arthritis Coming to a pharmacy near you: a bong in a bottle. Just kidding. Actually, the Med-Marijuana line of herbal remedies contains so little of the psychoactive ingredient found in weed, you could down a whole bottle without feeling the slightest buzz. "You can take this stuff till hell freezes over and you're not going to get a minute of euphoria," said Bob Martin, a Calgary life insurance salesman who recently got the rights to distribute the hemp-derived remedies in southern Alberta. He said he hopes to start selling the products in Edmonton soon. "Health Canada's rules for (over-the-counter products) made from marijuana specify they must have less than 10 parts per million of THC, the psychoactive ingredient. Our product has something like 1.5 to two parts per million." While it won't get you high, Martin claims Med-Marijuana cannabis oil tablets will help with the rheumatism. The company hasn't commissioned any product-specific studies on the effects of Med-Marijuana. Martin insists nutritionists have been praising the nutritional value of cannabis seeds "for years." "You could live on cannabis seeds and water," he said. "It has an amazing effect on arthritis pain. My wife has bad arthritis - she started taking the product and became pain-free in a matter of days." One expert in herbal remedies backs up Martin's claim. Paul Saunders of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine said hemp oil contains high amounts of omega 6, a natural anti-inflammatory. "So it has the potential to help with joint pain," he said. "I haven't seen the product out here in conservative Ontario, and I don't know why it's being sold as 'Med-Marijuana' when there's practically no active ingredient in it. "Perhaps it's a marketing attempt to flaunt the link with actual medical marijuana, which does have health benefits." "Essentially, the name of the product isn't incorrect," said Health Canada spokesman Christopher Williams. "The name 'hemp oil' would be more accurate, though." Martin said the product will be available in all 19 Super Drug Mart outlets in Calgary this week. He didn't know when it might be available in Edmonton. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake