MEDICAL MARIJUANA SOLD BY CALGARY PHARMACIES AS HERBAL REMEDY

CALGARY - Marijuana is being sold in small doses as a herbal remedy
at more than a dozen Calgary pharmacies.

The gel-capped tablets, marketed under the name Med-Marijuana, each
contain less than ten parts per million of tetrahydrocannabinol, the
intoxicating substance in marijuana, said Shirley Martin, spokeswoman
for 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, she said.

Martin said she uses Med-Marijuana to control her arthritis pain.

The 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 negotiate to gain Health Canada
approval is unrealistic, said arthritis patient Donna Felde.

For 18 months, 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.

Obtaining the drug is a major hurdle, even with permission to use it.
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 Kreiger.

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.