T
The420Guy
Guest
DUNCAN, B.C. (CP) - Eric Nash and his wife, Wendy Little, grow the
healthiest legal pot in Canada. Nash and Little are the first federally
licensed medical marijuana growers in Canada to have their crop officially
certified 100 per cent organic.
It's a healthy bonus for the thousands of Canadians who could use it to ease
suffering from a wide range of conditions, including multiple sclerosis,
cancer, arthritis and AIDS, Nash says in an interview at his home in this
Vancouver Island community about 70 kilometres north of Victoria.
The Certified Organic Associations of British Columbia, an organization
likely more accustomed to monitoring the production of carrots or spinach,
granted Nash and Little certified organic status this month.
In British Columbia, where the RCMP says that black market marijuana worth
billions is the province's largest cash crop, Nash displays his organic
certification like a badge of honour.
Nash, 44, and Little, 41, do not fit the stereotype of typical marijuana
growers or pot smokers.
Both graduated from university with honours, Little in education and Nash in
visual arts. They have an eight-year-old daughter and live in an attractive,
art-filled home in an older Duncan neighbourhood.
Nash, a Web site designer and former professional horticulturist, says
organic certification is a step forward in the slow march toward getting
Ottawa to acknowledge that marijuana has wide-ranging medicinal qualities.
"It's raising the credibility of medicinal marijuana as a legitimate
medicine, as a safe medicine, as an alternative medicine to all the
pharmaceuticals and other things that people tried that don't work," Nash
says.
People who are sick or in pain deserve access to medicine - what Nash calls
his marijuana - grown without the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers,
he says.
"I want to ensure these people are getting certified organic marijuana for
their health problem," Nash says. "I want people to know it's been inspected
every step of the way, from the soils to the fertilizers."
He gladly admits telling an agricultural feed store employee recently that
he was growing organic marijuana for medicinal purposes, legally.
"Her jaw just about dropped on the floor," Nash says.
Nash and Little are two of the 36 Canadians licensed by Health Canada to
produce medical marijuana for ill people.
The federal Marijuana Medical Access Regulations, enacted in July 2001,
allow people to apply to legally grow their own marijuana or designate a
grower for their supply.
Ottawa granted Prairie Plant Systems Inc., a five-year, $5.7-million
contract in 2000 to grow marijuana in an old copper mine in Flin Flon, Man.
But Health Canada has said it will not make any of its Flin Flon marijuana
available to patients because it wants to see scientific proof about whether
the drug is effective.
Nash says the medicinal marijuana approval process is complicated and
requires completion of lengthy forms by patients and their doctors.
"An incredible amount of people don't feel comfortable asking their doctor
for cannabis for medicine," he says. "Many feel the doctor will think, 'I'm
just asking for pot.' "
Nash provides his organic medical marijuana to a Vancouver Island woman with
MS and his wife supplies marijuana to an Edmonton man, also with MS.
Licensed growers are permitted by law to distribute marijuana to one person
and it must be on a non-profit basis, says Nash.
The couple applied to Health Minister Anne McLellan last January to supply
their marijuana to more than one patient each, but haven't yet heard from
Ottawa.
Nash and Little say they became involved in the medical marijuana issue for
compassionate reasons.
Little's father was suffering from arthritis and Parkinson's disease and
wanted to know about the possibility of using medical marijuana to ease his
pain, she says.
Her father never ended up trying marijuana because he was concerned about
breaking the law, but the medical marijuana issue continued to grow for the
couple.
Nash designed a Web site for people to discuss medical marijuana issues,
which now has turned www.medicalmarihuana.ca into one of the leading
marijuana sites on the Internet, with 500,000 hits monthly.
It has been noted as a national reference by the Canadian AIDS Society and
the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.
"We get so many e-mails from patients in pain," says Nash. "There's a huge
need for someone to supply these people."
One e-mail from a woman with MS says marijuana helps relieve her constant
pain, stops muscle spasms, stimulates her appetite and allows her to sleep
comfortably. But she can't get approval for a supply of medical marijuana.
"While Anne McLellan twiddles her thumbs and feels uncomfortable with the
whole issue, I am forced to get my medicine from the street," she says. "I
guess that keeps the police well paid and the bureaucrats happy."
Ted Smith, a Victoria medical marijuana advocate, estimates up to 250,000
Canadians could benefit from medical marijuana.
Marijuana can be used for relief of pain and nausea and it stimulates
appetite and the mind, he says.
"There's nothing that melts your heart more than when you see a lady in her
90s with a couple of (marijuana) cookies and a smile on her face," says
Smith, currently facing charges of possession of marijuana for the purposes
of trafficking.
People from all walks of life are turning to underground compassion clubs
where they can get their marijuana without turning to drug dealers, he says.
The government's decision to allow a few people legal access to medical
marijuana does not alleviate the pain of thousands who could benefit from
its use, he says.
"It's the government trying to comply with court orders at the bare
minimum," he says. "It's giving this medicine to the sickest of Canadians."
Nash says he is ready to provide healthy marijuana to more than just one
patient.
"Tens of thousands would gladly take part if they didn't have to jump all
the hoops."
DIRK MEISSNER
Canadian Press
healthiest legal pot in Canada. Nash and Little are the first federally
licensed medical marijuana growers in Canada to have their crop officially
certified 100 per cent organic.
It's a healthy bonus for the thousands of Canadians who could use it to ease
suffering from a wide range of conditions, including multiple sclerosis,
cancer, arthritis and AIDS, Nash says in an interview at his home in this
Vancouver Island community about 70 kilometres north of Victoria.
The Certified Organic Associations of British Columbia, an organization
likely more accustomed to monitoring the production of carrots or spinach,
granted Nash and Little certified organic status this month.
In British Columbia, where the RCMP says that black market marijuana worth
billions is the province's largest cash crop, Nash displays his organic
certification like a badge of honour.
Nash, 44, and Little, 41, do not fit the stereotype of typical marijuana
growers or pot smokers.
Both graduated from university with honours, Little in education and Nash in
visual arts. They have an eight-year-old daughter and live in an attractive,
art-filled home in an older Duncan neighbourhood.
Nash, a Web site designer and former professional horticulturist, says
organic certification is a step forward in the slow march toward getting
Ottawa to acknowledge that marijuana has wide-ranging medicinal qualities.
"It's raising the credibility of medicinal marijuana as a legitimate
medicine, as a safe medicine, as an alternative medicine to all the
pharmaceuticals and other things that people tried that don't work," Nash
says.
People who are sick or in pain deserve access to medicine - what Nash calls
his marijuana - grown without the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers,
he says.
"I want to ensure these people are getting certified organic marijuana for
their health problem," Nash says. "I want people to know it's been inspected
every step of the way, from the soils to the fertilizers."
He gladly admits telling an agricultural feed store employee recently that
he was growing organic marijuana for medicinal purposes, legally.
"Her jaw just about dropped on the floor," Nash says.
Nash and Little are two of the 36 Canadians licensed by Health Canada to
produce medical marijuana for ill people.
The federal Marijuana Medical Access Regulations, enacted in July 2001,
allow people to apply to legally grow their own marijuana or designate a
grower for their supply.
Ottawa granted Prairie Plant Systems Inc., a five-year, $5.7-million
contract in 2000 to grow marijuana in an old copper mine in Flin Flon, Man.
But Health Canada has said it will not make any of its Flin Flon marijuana
available to patients because it wants to see scientific proof about whether
the drug is effective.
Nash says the medicinal marijuana approval process is complicated and
requires completion of lengthy forms by patients and their doctors.
"An incredible amount of people don't feel comfortable asking their doctor
for cannabis for medicine," he says. "Many feel the doctor will think, 'I'm
just asking for pot.' "
Nash provides his organic medical marijuana to a Vancouver Island woman with
MS and his wife supplies marijuana to an Edmonton man, also with MS.
Licensed growers are permitted by law to distribute marijuana to one person
and it must be on a non-profit basis, says Nash.
The couple applied to Health Minister Anne McLellan last January to supply
their marijuana to more than one patient each, but haven't yet heard from
Ottawa.
Nash and Little say they became involved in the medical marijuana issue for
compassionate reasons.
Little's father was suffering from arthritis and Parkinson's disease and
wanted to know about the possibility of using medical marijuana to ease his
pain, she says.
Her father never ended up trying marijuana because he was concerned about
breaking the law, but the medical marijuana issue continued to grow for the
couple.
Nash designed a Web site for people to discuss medical marijuana issues,
which now has turned www.medicalmarihuana.ca into one of the leading
marijuana sites on the Internet, with 500,000 hits monthly.
It has been noted as a national reference by the Canadian AIDS Society and
the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.
"We get so many e-mails from patients in pain," says Nash. "There's a huge
need for someone to supply these people."
One e-mail from a woman with MS says marijuana helps relieve her constant
pain, stops muscle spasms, stimulates her appetite and allows her to sleep
comfortably. But she can't get approval for a supply of medical marijuana.
"While Anne McLellan twiddles her thumbs and feels uncomfortable with the
whole issue, I am forced to get my medicine from the street," she says. "I
guess that keeps the police well paid and the bureaucrats happy."
Ted Smith, a Victoria medical marijuana advocate, estimates up to 250,000
Canadians could benefit from medical marijuana.
Marijuana can be used for relief of pain and nausea and it stimulates
appetite and the mind, he says.
"There's nothing that melts your heart more than when you see a lady in her
90s with a couple of (marijuana) cookies and a smile on her face," says
Smith, currently facing charges of possession of marijuana for the purposes
of trafficking.
People from all walks of life are turning to underground compassion clubs
where they can get their marijuana without turning to drug dealers, he says.
The government's decision to allow a few people legal access to medical
marijuana does not alleviate the pain of thousands who could benefit from
its use, he says.
"It's the government trying to comply with court orders at the bare
minimum," he says. "It's giving this medicine to the sickest of Canadians."
Nash says he is ready to provide healthy marijuana to more than just one
patient.
"Tens of thousands would gladly take part if they didn't have to jump all
the hoops."
DIRK MEISSNER
Canadian Press
