|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
Canada: BC To Ottawa: 'This Bud's For You'
ccguide Sunday 07 May 2000 Pubdate: Sat, 06 May 2000 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: The Vancouver Sun 2000 Contact: Address: 200 Granville Street, Ste.#1, Vancouver BC V6C 3N3 Fax: (604) 605-2323 Website: http://www.vancouversun.com/ Author: Ken MacQueen, Vancouver Sun; With files from Southam News Cited: BC Compassion Club Society: http://www.thecompassionclub.org/ B.C. TO OTTAWA: 'THIS BUD'S FOR YOU' Health Canada Calls For Tenders To Supply High-Grade Medical Cannabis. British Columbia's multi-billion-dollar pot industry has a chance to go legit with the news Friday that Health Canada is calling for tenders to supply high-grade medical marijuana. Announcement of the long-awaited tender was greeted with elation by Hilary Black, founder of Vancouver's Compassion Club Society. The three-year-old club operates in a legal grey zone, supplying medical marijuana to more than 1,000 members with such diseases as AIDS, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis. "We've been waiting for this," Black said Friday. "That's great that the bid is finally out." Brian Taylor, the former mayor of Grand Forks, called the news a huge economic opportunity for the province and a chance to rehabilitate the reputation of so-called B.C. Bud. Taylor has worked for more than three years to establish the Cannabis Research Institute in Grand Forks, designed specifically to supply medical marijuana for the Canadian and export market. Critics have called him a dreamer or a criminal, but Taylor was feeling a sense of vindication Friday, saying his company, which is being underwritten by a private share offering, is well placed to bid for the five-year contract. "This calls for a whole different way of looking at B.C. pot," he said in an interview from Grand Forks. "Instead of it being bike gangs and Asian gangs and police intrusions, this potentially is a major market for B.C. The reputation has been established illicitly, but it could be maintained in a [legal] marijuana market for medical purposes." B.C.'s reputation for high-quality marijuana has earned it international criticism from U.S. and even United Nations drug enforcement agencies. The Organized Crime Agency of B.C. says there are 10,000 illegal growing operations in B.C., producing an annual crop worth more than $3 billion for consumption and export. The government-sanctioned marijuana will be used for clinical research trials to gather scientific evidence on its safety and effectiveness in treating medical conditions. Some seriously ill people say the drug, when smoked or eaten in foods such as brownies, can ease symptoms of many diseases. Black says those at the Compassion Club find the drug can ease pain, cut nausea, reduce the shaking of spastic or degenerative diseases and stimulate appetites, among other benefits. Health Minister Allan Rock has issued legal exemptions to several dozen seriously ill Canadians, allowing them to use the drug. However, until now, he has not acted to provide a supply for the ill or for research. The contract calls for a "reliable source of affordable, quality, standardized marijuana products" for clinical trials. The supplier would have to grow and store the product, manufacture it into cigarettes and distribute it to "recipients authorized by Health Canada." Black said she hopes the Compassion Club will be able to share in the supply, after years of relying on growers who put themselves at considerable legal risk. Taylor, gambling on the potential of medical marijuana, has already acquired land, and established a plan to grow both outdoor and hydroponic organic marijuana. He also has an extensive security plan in place to ensure the crop isn't stolen from the fields or hijacked on the way to market. "B.C. needs this new industry," he said. "If we allow this to slide into the hands of Quebec or an Ontario market, I think we've made a real mistake." He called Health Canada's announcement the start of "a more sensible approach" to marijuana. The bids must be submitted to Ottawa by June 6 and a crop must be ready within a year. But Taylor was taking a few minutes to celebrate. "I've waited so long, I'm going to savour it," he said. "I'm going to have a glass of wine and sit down." Today, Vancouver cannabis activists have organized a "millennium marijuana march" starting at 2 p.m. at the Vancouver Art Gallery at Georgia and Howe and proceeding to Stanley Park. The event, including music, face-painting and a pot seed giveaway, is part of an international effort to end the "global pot prohibition" against medical or recreational use of the drug. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!