EDITORIAL

We Say: The Federal Health Minister Should Expedite The Start Of Test Trials

Feds Slow To Act

THE MEDICAL BENEFITS OF MARIJUANA

For many sufferers of serious illnesses, the treatment can be as difficult
an ordeal as the illness itself. Smoking marijuana provides a means to ease
the pain and side effects of such treatments as chemotherapy, according to
those who advocate the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Federal Health Minister Allan Rock has announced that details of testing
trials to determine if anecdotal stories about the medicinal benefits of
marijuana are true will be announced in late June. While such trials are
necessary, they should have been started before now.

When Rock took over the federal health portfolio in 1997 he said he was
sympathetic to those suffering from painful disease but he wanted more than
just anecdotal evidence.

It has taken two years to transform the minister’s sympathy into action.
And during those two years, more patients have suffered.

AIDS and cancer victims say smoking marijuana helps them cope with nausea
caused by chemical and radiation therapies. Others believe smoking the drug
can relieve pain associated with multiple sclerosis, as well as prevent
epileptic seizures.

But smoking marijuana can also result in charges, court appearances and
fines for these patients -- hardly a compassionate way to allow people to
recover from their illness. Patients can apply for exemptions from the
Criminal Code, but it is a long, arduous process and legally obtaining the
marijuana is nearly impossible.

Only two people in Canada can legally grow and use marijuana without being
charged. Both cases required lengthy court challenges. Such legal actions
should have provided the impetus for the federal health minister to move
forward on the issue.

With the issue at the forefront of Rock’s agenda, he should expedite the
establishment of the trials and a distribution system for the substance, if
the trials verify the anecdotal evidence.