MEDICAL MARIJUANA PILLS AVAILABLE AT DRUG STORES

But Activists Say Legal Users Still Can't Get The Drug

Need pot? Check the cough medicine aisle.

Marijuana is being sold in small doses as a herbal remedy at some
Calgary pharmacies.

Despite this new product, local pot activists say
government-sanctioned users still have trouble getting the drug.

Med-Marijuana cannabis oil tablets are being sold over the counter at
more than a dozen pharmacies in Calgary.

The gel-capped pills contain less than ten parts per million of
tetrahydrocannabinol, the intoxicating substance in marijuana, said
Shirley Martin, spokeswoman for product distributor Doni Marketing Inc.

"You don't smoke it, you don't get the munchies and you can't get
high," Martin said.

The herbal medicine made by a Nova Scotia company is approved by
Health Canada and fights a number of conditions including arthritis
and high blood pressure, she said.

Martin uses Med-Marijuana to control her arthritis pain.

"I was so swollen in my right shoulder my husband, through my
clothes, could see the swelling," she said. "After about two to three
weeks of taking the gel caps, my shoulder went down. I can use my
shoulder and the pain has not returned."

The availability of this over-the-counter marijuana raises the access
debate for some local pot activists.

In 2001, Health Canada approved use of marijuana to treat specific
conditions such as pain from cancer, severe forms of arthritis,
multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries and some debilitating diseases.

Patients with permission to use medical marijuana can buy dried
leaves from the government or seeds to grow their own in limited quantities.

The bureaucratic maze patients must endure to gain Health Canada
approval is unrealistic, said arthritis patient Donna Felde.

For a year and a half, Felde tried to get permission to use marijuana
for her debilitating arthritis. She has filled out forms, researched
the approval process and quizzed her doctor, to no avail.

"My doctor cannot prescribe it," Felde said. "She got a letter from
the Alberta College of Physicians saying she could lose her
malpractice insurance."

Obtaining the drug is a major hurdle even with permission to use it.
It's not covered by most insurance policies nor is it available in
pharmacies, she said.

There has been talk of having pharmacists distribute marijuana, but
not everyone supports the idea.

"Moving it into pharmacies allows the police department to close down
compassion clubs . . . but pharmacists don't have a clue how to use
it," said Calgary pot activist Grant Krieger.

He's concerned about the quality of the government marijuana supply,
which he said is filled with contaminants from the undergrown mine
it's grown in.

This product causes migraines for many patients forced to use it, Krieger said.