More MS news articles for Dec 2001

For the ill, the pot's in the post

http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoNews/ts.ts-12-27-0054.html

Thursday, December 27, 2001
By JASON BOTCHFORD, Toronto Sun

It has been a green Christmas for many medical marijuana users across Canada, courtesy of Canada Post.

Canadian compassion clubs were able to leave shrink-wrapped ounces of marijuana under trees via a new shipping system that utilizes Canada Express Post.

The system is giving sick and dying Canadians, who have legal exemptions from the health ministry to smoke marijuana as medicine, safe and secure delivery.

"It's groundbreaking," says Eric Nash, who runs a Canadian resource Web site for pot smokers at www.medicalmarihuana.ca. "This is a new thing, it's never been done before in the world. It's leading edge that marijuana delivery is being sanctioned by the federal government through this philosophy."

More than a dozen compassion clubs can now use Canada Post to legally send their medicine. Many clubs have combined this with a new, limited-time donation program that will see the product delivered for free for those in need.

The clubs are currently soliciting green donations from their growers, which they then pass along to medical patients holding exemption certificates.

"It is an efficient and well-managed network, and is serving patients well in the procurement of high quality, organic medical marijuana," Nash said.

Dozens of packages with just under an ounce of marijuana have been sent in the past couple of weeks.

"It's about time," says Bill Palmer, 37, who is infected with HIV and can legally puff for medical reasons. "Finally the marijuana has a system to get to the people who need it and have a legal right to use it."