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The420Guy
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OTTAWA (CP) - Some of the first patients to smoke Health Canada's
government-approved marijuana say it's "disgusting" and want their money back.
"It's totally unsuitable for human consumption," said Jim Wakeford, 58, an AIDS
patient in Gibsons, B.C. "It gave me a slight buzziness for about three to five
minutes, and that was it. I got no other effect from it."
Barrie Dalley, a 52-year-old Toronto man who uses marijuana to combat the
nausea
associated with AIDS, said the Health Canada dope actually made him sick to his
stomach.
"I threw up," Dalley said Monday. "It made me nauseous because I had to use so
much of it. It was so weak in potency that I really threw up."
Both men are returning their 30-gram bags, and Dalley is demanding his money
back, $150 plus taxes. Wakeford is returning his unpaid bill with a letter of
complaint.
A third AIDS patient says he's also unhappy with the product, which is supposed
to contain 10.2 per cent THC, the main active ingredient.
"I'm still smoking it - I would prefer better, but it's all I've got," said
Jari
Dvorak, 62, in Toronto. "I think Health Canada certainly should do better with
the quality."
All three are among a handful of patients who have registered with Health
Canada
to buy dope directly from the government to alleviate their medical symptoms.
The department was compelled to begin direct distribution in July, following an
Ontario court order earlier this year that said needy patients should not be
forced to get their cannabis on the streets or from authorized growers, who
themselves obtain seeds or cuttings illegally.
The marijuana is being grown for Health Canada deep underground, in a vacant
mine section in Flin Flon, Man., by Prairie Plant Systems on a $5.75-million
contract. The department originally intended that the product go first to
accredited researchers to demonstrate whether or not cannabis is medically
effective.
Health Minister Anne McLellan has said she opposes the direct distribution of
government cannabis to patients and that the program will end if the department
wins its appeal of the Ontario court decision.
The government dope also came under fire Monday from Canadians for Safe Access,
a patients' rights group that is pressing for supplies of safe, effective
marijuana.
Laboratory tests indicate the Health Canada product has only about three per
cent THC - not the 10.2 per cent advertised - and contains contaminants such as
lead and arsenic, said spokesman Philippe Lucas of Vicoria.
"This particular product wouldn't hold a candle to street level cannabis," he
said in an interview.
But Lucas declined to identify the three labs that did the testing, other than
to indicate they're in Vancouver, saying he fears the facilities might suffer
repercussions from Health Canada because they were not authorized to
possess the
cannabis.
He also would not say how the group obtained the sample of government dope.
Lucas, who smokes marijuana to cope with his hepatitis C infection, said
the lab
results also showed that the cannabis provided at a Victoria compassion
club for
patients registers at more than 12 per cent and is freer from contaminants.
He said the government cannabis was too finely ground up with stems and leaves,
calling it "shwag" or "bunk," street terminology for the lowest grade of
marijuana.
"It's high time for Minister McLellan to acknowledge Health Canada's total
failure and ineptitude in its handling of therapuetic cannabis research,
distribution and cultivation," Lucas said in a statement.
Health Canada spokesmen did not immediately respond to requests for comment
Monday.
Source: Canadian Press
Pubdate: September 15, 2003
Author: Dean Beeby
government-approved marijuana say it's "disgusting" and want their money back.
"It's totally unsuitable for human consumption," said Jim Wakeford, 58, an AIDS
patient in Gibsons, B.C. "It gave me a slight buzziness for about three to five
minutes, and that was it. I got no other effect from it."
Barrie Dalley, a 52-year-old Toronto man who uses marijuana to combat the
nausea
associated with AIDS, said the Health Canada dope actually made him sick to his
stomach.
"I threw up," Dalley said Monday. "It made me nauseous because I had to use so
much of it. It was so weak in potency that I really threw up."
Both men are returning their 30-gram bags, and Dalley is demanding his money
back, $150 plus taxes. Wakeford is returning his unpaid bill with a letter of
complaint.
A third AIDS patient says he's also unhappy with the product, which is supposed
to contain 10.2 per cent THC, the main active ingredient.
"I'm still smoking it - I would prefer better, but it's all I've got," said
Jari
Dvorak, 62, in Toronto. "I think Health Canada certainly should do better with
the quality."
All three are among a handful of patients who have registered with Health
Canada
to buy dope directly from the government to alleviate their medical symptoms.
The department was compelled to begin direct distribution in July, following an
Ontario court order earlier this year that said needy patients should not be
forced to get their cannabis on the streets or from authorized growers, who
themselves obtain seeds or cuttings illegally.
The marijuana is being grown for Health Canada deep underground, in a vacant
mine section in Flin Flon, Man., by Prairie Plant Systems on a $5.75-million
contract. The department originally intended that the product go first to
accredited researchers to demonstrate whether or not cannabis is medically
effective.
Health Minister Anne McLellan has said she opposes the direct distribution of
government cannabis to patients and that the program will end if the department
wins its appeal of the Ontario court decision.
The government dope also came under fire Monday from Canadians for Safe Access,
a patients' rights group that is pressing for supplies of safe, effective
marijuana.
Laboratory tests indicate the Health Canada product has only about three per
cent THC - not the 10.2 per cent advertised - and contains contaminants such as
lead and arsenic, said spokesman Philippe Lucas of Vicoria.
"This particular product wouldn't hold a candle to street level cannabis," he
said in an interview.
But Lucas declined to identify the three labs that did the testing, other than
to indicate they're in Vancouver, saying he fears the facilities might suffer
repercussions from Health Canada because they were not authorized to
possess the
cannabis.
He also would not say how the group obtained the sample of government dope.
Lucas, who smokes marijuana to cope with his hepatitis C infection, said
the lab
results also showed that the cannabis provided at a Victoria compassion
club for
patients registers at more than 12 per cent and is freer from contaminants.
He said the government cannabis was too finely ground up with stems and leaves,
calling it "shwag" or "bunk," street terminology for the lowest grade of
marijuana.
"It's high time for Minister McLellan to acknowledge Health Canada's total
failure and ineptitude in its handling of therapuetic cannabis research,
distribution and cultivation," Lucas said in a statement.
Health Canada spokesmen did not immediately respond to requests for comment
Monday.
Source: Canadian Press
Pubdate: September 15, 2003
Author: Dean Beeby
