ISSUE # 45
Vote for Change P.13
High Court Heroics Dispensary Licences Center P. 26
Issue Number 45
www.CannabisDigest.ca
Cannabis Digest • Summer 2015
ISSUE # 45 SUMMER 2015
CREDITS Publisher
Ted Smith <hempo101@gmail.com>
Editor-in-Chief
Judith Stamps <editor@hempology.ca>
Graphics Editor
Owen Smith <rainbowensmyth@gmail.com>
CONTENTS
Web Editor
Dieter MacPherson <dietermacpherson@gmail.com>
Distribution/Ads
Deborah D. <cannabis.digest.advertising@gmail.com>
Contributors
Editors Note.............................................P.05 Publishers Note.......................................P.06
Owen Smith Ted Smith Judith Stamps Dean Schwind Ras Kahleb (Jamaica) December Kennedy (Colorado) Paul Lewin Dieter Macpherson Jerry Golick Jason Balaam Georgia Toons
Making Cannabis NORML.......................P.03
Cover by Jason Balaam
For editorial questions, letters, or information on submitting: <editor@hempology.ca>
Jamaica’s Ganja Bill ................................P.07 Colorado Embraces Legalization..........P.09 Cannabis Oil and Epilepsy......................P.11 Vote For Change......................................P.13 High Court Heroics.........................CENTER Parksville Club Busted...........................P.17 RvSmith Exemptions..............................P.19 Updates, Warnings & Suggestions.........P.22 Quebec Doctor Clampdown...................P.23 Licensing Dispensaries..........................P.26 Crossword / Comics.................................P.29
826 Johnson Street V8W 1N3 Phone: 250-381-4220 www.hempology.ca www.cannabisdigest.ca
The Cannabis Digest will not be held responsible for claims made within the pages of the newspaper, nor those made by advertisers. We do not suggest or condone illegal activities, and urge readers to research their country’s laws, and/ or talk to their doctors, before engaging in any activities that could be deemed as illegal or dangerous to one’s health.
Issue Number 45
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Making Cannabis NORML
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The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws of Canada disagree on which party to support, but I think we can agree that all politicians from all parties need to be fully educated on the follies of prohibition, and the benefits of thoughtful regulations.
Ted Smith
ishing, the size of the country certainly being one. Most of the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus appears to be behind the scenes, with a great deal of effort on political lobbying rather than protesting. This has limited the profile of the group, as seeking attenMost people in the move- tion or planning events has not ment recognize the National been as a directive. Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws from its NORML Canada is going to work in the USA, where is change. established itself as the first
ever has there been a N more important time for cannabis activists across Can-
ada to work together as much as possible. With so much momentum towards positive change happening, we need to coordinate our efforts to ensure that new regulations governing the sale and production of cannabis work in the best interest of individuals and the greater community. NORML Canada has the potential to bridge the gaps among activists that have kept us from coordinating our legal and political efforts to legalize cannabis. While most of us have chosen a life outside of politics, it is very important that we collectively pressure all political parties to support or create progressive, reasonable regulations for cannabis distributors and consumers, patients and connoisseurs. With an election looming this fall and cannabis a regular feature on the news, this is a critical time for us to get our message out. We may
and premier activistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; organization in 1970. By focusing on ballot initiatives, NORML has helped decriminalize possession in some states, create medical cannabis laws in others, and legalize cannabis in a few. By pooling their resources, this collection of lawyers, smugglers, patients, educators and activists have managed to build an impressive network. Meanwhile, the path of NORML Canada has not been so smooth. There has been an active group here since 1978. However, several factors kept the organization from flour-
It is my intention as publisher of the Cannabis Digest, to bring a new wave of energy to NORML Canada, expanding its mandate so that it becomes much more active in the cannabis community. Further, much of my work will be directed at the legal battles across Canada, using my experience with the Smith case and other trials. Since NORML Canada is lead by veteran lawyer John Conroy, along with Kirk Tousaw and Paul Lewin from Toronto, it has not been hard to convince the group to put energy towards important legal challenges.
After years of attempting to build a national network of student clubs under the Hempology 101 banner, this seems a much more intelligent direction for my efforts. Working with students is very rewarding but very time consuming, as there is a high turnover in school. While I will continue to work with the student clubs at UVic and UBC, and organize the events we hold throughout the year in Victoria, it is my plan to work with NORML Canada to help take things to the next level. In Canada the political climate is very different from the USA, so the strategy here needs to reflect that. Most of the major steps forward here have been the result of court challenges and open defiance of the law, while in the states the major changes have come from ballot initiatives and individual lobbying efforts. No doubt it will always be important for NORML Canada to pressure politicians for sane policies, especially during election periods, but there should be more effort put into court challenges, as they are where we have made our greatest gains. Indeed, in the US, there is a Law Committee within NORML that coordinates a number of projects. They have a list of lawyers throughout the country who are known for having a good understanding of the relevant case law, and how to bargain with prosecutors. An annual conference of
Cannabis Digest • Summer 2015 lawyers gives the committee a great opportunity to keep legal advocates up-to-date on trends in court, available expert witnesses, and informed interpretations of recent decisions. A similar law committee could prove very useful in Canada, and it is my intention to help create such a committee. Lawyers here need to earn something called CLE credits annually by attending accredited workshops and conferences authorized by a law society. It will take a lot of effort, but I firmly believe such a convention, if properly organized, could bring a huge wave of help from young and old lawyers alike.
vidual cases of hardship due to law enforcement action. Many people arrested have few resources to launch a proper court challenge, often quietly making plea bargains to avoid attention and further legal costs. Likewise, writing press releases and organizing press conferences is far beyond the ability of most people going through court for cannabis offences, a role that NORML Canada could easily play in many cases.
19 and 20 in Vancouver, and Sept 26 in Toronto. With the election close by, these gatherings will help pressure politicians to support sane cannabis policies, giving activists an opportunity to network and collaborate efforts leading up to the final days of the campaign. This is the first time NORML Canada has attempted to organize large conferences and we hope that we can build the organization enough to host many more in other cities as
“In Vancouver we will be having two full days of speakers and workshops”
Organizing benefit concerts to support individuals harmed First, we need to build upon by the law or in support of imthe dozens of volunteers portant court challenges like NORML Canada has across the Allard case, which is lead the country, bringing the num- by the president of NORML bers to hundreds, then thou- Canada, John Conroy, will help sands. It is an ambitious plan build the NORML Canada but one worth the effort. Since network. The Allard case in everyone is affected by the law, particular needs a great deal of either directly by getting ar- support, financially and in the rested or indirectly by living courtroom, and it is a case the under whatever conditions the entire cannabis culture should law creates, most mature can- be supporting, as the right to nabis consumers should be in- grow your own plants should volved in the struggle to fully be one of the most important liberate the plant. NORML goals shared by everyone. This Canada will be the best net- case affects people across the work within which that can country, now and into the fuhappen. ture, and needs a national organization like NORML beOne of the best ways for hind it. NORML Canada to become more relevant and influential In order to launch NORML is to hold benefits for impor- Canada into the next level of actant court cases, and help raise tivism, we are organizing Right public awareness about indi- To Grow conferences on Sept
the years go by. In Vancouver we will be having two full days of speakers and workshops, plus several fundraising events in the evenings. To help cover costs, NORML Canada has partnered with several businesses and non-profit societies--a great community building exercise. All surplus proceeds will be going towards costs associated with the Allard case.
talking about the recent Smith decision, the Allard case, vapor lounges and dispensaries. Finally, we will have spokespersons from Licensed Producers and dispensaries to hear about how the distribution of cannabis for medical purposes is working. On the second day the group will be given the opportunity to break up into smaller workshops, giving those in attendance an opportunity to ask questions, make statements and offer assistance to each other. There will be three, onehour sessions, with participants having to choose between one of two workshops each hour. Co-facilitators will give the group some focus, though it is expected there will be a wealth of experience on each topic in each room, and we hope to inspire conversations into actions. Meanwhile, we will be doing everything possible to build the capacity of NORML Canada to generate political pressure towards legalization, and to coordinate within the legal community. One of the key components to these activities will be quarterly membership meetings in areas where volunteers are great enough in numbers to warrant pushing this further. The meetings will give members an opportunity to get up-to-date on political developments behind the scenes ,as well as discuss local and nationally important legal cases.
John Conroy will be flown to Toronto for the event, giving spectators a chance to hear for themselves how the Allard case is proceeding. It will be very interesting to hear the lawyers discussing the differences between Vancouver and Toronto in terms of enforcement of the law, licensing of dispensaries and tolerance of vapor lounges. John has been president of NORML Canada for a While it will never be possible very long time, and his indepth to get everyone in the cannabis knowledge and wise perspec- culture working together at all tive will be well received. times, there should be times and places we can learn to work In Vancouver it is our plan together for the greater good. to have a full day of keynote This election demands we try speakers, generally discussing to work together to eliminate politics, law and the medical the Conservatives from govcannabis industry. We plan ernment, and there is no othupon giving representatives er organization but NORML from the Liberals, NDP and Canada ready, willing and able Green Party a chance to speak to lead that charge. Join us as about their party’s position. we tear down the final bricks of Then an hour will be spent with the walls of cannabis prohibiKirk Tousaw and John Conroy tion.
Issue Number 45
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EDITORS NOTE: Scribblings From the Editor cannabis dispensaries as legitimate “marijuana related businesses.” This coming fall, Canadians will elect a new federal government, and for the first time in history, cannabis (marijuana, I’m sure they’ll call it) will be a campaign issue.
Judith Stamps
W
producers are proud, as well, to have produced part of this revolution, in particular, publisher and writer, Ted Smith, and layout artist and writer, Owen Smith. As you’ll read in these pages, were it not for their fortitude, cannabis extracts would today still be illegal in Canada. Meanwhile North American So do take Ted Smith up on his medicine makers and parents, offer of back issues. They are a also in defiance of federal law, chronicle of everything cannahave set about to save a generation of children who experience seizures, or autism; soldiers suffering from combat related P TSD, to bring sanity back to their lives; seniors with age related illnesses, to ease their discomforts; and others too numerous to count, to heal themselves—with cannabis, illegally where necessary. And yes, I have returned to the Old Victorian writing style, which averaged 27 words per sentence. The Victorians had it right; they had legal cannabis.
elcome to Issue 45 of the Cannabis Digest. Welcome to the summer of 2015. And welcome to the sound of prohibition’s millstone grinding to a halt. To date, 23 US states have some form of legal medical cannabis, 3 have legal cannabis, and more of the same is in the works; Canada has legal medical cannabis and, as of this month, legal cannabis extracts. On the West Coast of Canada, the City Councils of VancouCannabis Digest is proud to ver and Victoria BC, and the document this revolution, and small town of Kimberley BC, in defiance of federal law, have to interpret events by placing chosen to regulate medical them in legal, historical and political context. Two of CD’s
bis—from politics to science— in this unique decade, and they feature articles that are accessible and informative. To one and all: Happy Reading. Editor@Hempology.ca
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Cannabis Digest • Summer 2015
PUBLISHERS NOTE: the club. It was my dream of have Hempology 101 clubs at universities around the world. Dragging my lover, Gayle, with me, I toured around for a year, hosting conventions, organizing book signings and going to events.
Then Gayle became quite ill with cancer and I had to pull back from tours and much of my work with Hempology 101 to look after her. She has become my number one priority. While I have had to quit many activities, like teaching a Ted Smith free, non-credit lecture series at the University of Victoria, ost of us identify who I was still able to publish the we are by what we do newspaper from our place in for work. Most people with the country. a trade or skill in the cannabis industry have no problem During this time Owen helping others understand Smith was working with the what they do by using a sim- VCBC, until just over a year ple label like a grower, dealer ago when he left the group and or employee in a vapor lounge. started working with HempolMy work, though, is so much ogy 101, and the Cannabis Didifferent from anyone else’s in gest in particular. The VCBC the country that I thought to has agreed to help us do our take some time to explain it. work by covering his part-time wages until we can get the CD My employer is the Inter- able to pay for our wages. He national Hempology 101 So- took over the layout of the ciety, a non-profit organiza- newspaper, which was a natution dedicated to educating ral progression of his skills the public about this precious making posters. plant. For years I was also the owner of a dispensary and At that point we decided this paper was created to help to add blogs to our content, educated patients and others as the newspaper only prints about developing court cases, 4 times a year. We have not politics, research and cannabis been able to keep up with proactivism. However, 2 ½ years ducing one a day, although we ago I turned the Victoria Can- did for the first 9 months. The nabis Buyers Club into a non- blogs have certainly improved profit society as well, and have our ability to educate the pubfocused on Hempology 101 lic about developments in the activities since. legal, political, medical and activist fields. With over half Three years ago, when I a million visits in the first year, was preparing the dispensary our growth has been well refor these changes, my book, ceived. But there is a lot more HEMPOLOGY 101: THE potential. HISTORY AND USES OF CANNABIS SATIVA, was While it has always been our coming out and it was my dream to get online advertishope that it would help sustain ers to take advantage of the me as an activist when I left traffic, we have not focused on
M
My “Job” As Cannabis Digest Publisher
selling ads. In fact, I have not really focused much on advertisers for the newspaper, which is why it has always struggled to pay for itself. Most of the advertisers are my friends who support the work our team does to educate the public. Few actually advertise because they think it will bring them more business, though I certainly hope our dedicated readers support the companies they see here supporting us. Meanwhile, our amazing group of friends has been financially supporting us so I can look after Gayle without worrying about money. It has been humbling to be living off the charity of others but I have little choice as she need fulltime care, and I cannot seem to get the paper to do much more than pay for itself at this point. Luckily there are enough other incredible people in our circles that we have been able to pay for all we have needed to survive this ordeal.
me an opportunity to work with some exceptional, serious activists across the country. As publisher of this newspaper, I am not only reporting the news but I am helping to create the news. Being part of the story that the Cannabis Digest is telling puts me in the unique position of being the content, writer, editor and reader. Not only am I reporting on the legalization of cannabis, I am making it happen and learning at the same time.
Whether it has been managing Owen’s trial, looking after Gayle, writing blogs, seeking new advertisers, sharing old articles on-line, distributing the paper, organizing rallies or providing advice to others in the industry, my work covers a wide range of activities that support the cannabis field and those who work in it. It is a lifestyle more than a regular job. My work, my dreams, my love, all of these things are Now that Gayle’s health is combined in one magical jourimproving and the court case ney. is over, it appears I have more time to work. Instead of trying to make money, though, it looks like my time will be spent working with NORML Canada in an attempt to help the legal community work together more effectively as we continue to use the courts to undermine these laws. Being with NORML Canada gives
Issue Number 45
www.CannabisDigest.ca
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Jamaica’s Ganja Bill Marley Homeland Goes Medical and Sacramental
year on their calendar of events. Another regulation under sacramental rights enables Rastas who have obtained their license from the Ministry of Justice to merchandise ganja products including oil extracts and edibles. Since such kind of merchandising is reserved only for members of the Rastafari community the government is establishing a Rastafari Advisory Committee Ras Kahleb consisting of Rastas from the various factions of the community for the purpose of giving “The Ganja Bill is a new dis- the Minister of Justice advice pensation…it is the f irst Public as to who is Rasta…and who is Act that recognizes Rastafari” not!
been for ganja possession. Unfortunately this does not mean that it is legal for Jamaicans to carry ganja on their person because a ticketable infraction of $500.00 will now be imposed on every person caught in possession of two ounces of ganja or less. Also under decriminalization those Jamaicans who received criminal records for the possession of small quantities of ganja are being expunged. While giving a talk in Spanish Town during a ganja symposium organized by the St. Catherine Ganja Growers Association the Hon. Mark Golding highlight-
Mark Golding - MOJ
S
ince prohibition in Jamaica during the late 1930’s the ganja plant has been associated with madness and criminality. Like many other governments around the globe the Jamaican government in recent past has considered ganja to be a gateway drug and has classified it as a hard drug like cocaine and heroin. It was not until very recently that the government of Jamaica took the bold initiative to make amends to the country’s age old ‘Dangerous’ Drugs Act. To many Jamaican’s and others the recent reform of the country’s ganja laws is definitely a step in the right direction. The Ganja Bill, as it is popularly known in Jamaica, stipulates that ganja is legal for medical and research purposes. The Ganja Bill permits the use of ganja for medical and therapeutic purposes, as prescribed by or recommended in writing by a registered medical practitioner. It also permits persons who are suffering from cancer and other serious chronic illness, to import ganja or products comprising ganja, where their use is recommended by a registered medical practitioner. In recognition of The Rastafari Movement the Ganja Bill permits the possession of ganja for sacramental purposes although there are some regulations. One regulation of the Ganja Bill, under sacramental rights, only permits the Rastafari community to grow and use ganja on designated sacramental lands (of which the community does not have much of ). Relating to trade and commerce, under sacramental rights, Rastas are allowed to market ganja at events that are in celebration of Rastafari culture. Hopefully the leaders of the Rastafari community will also place the many reggae shows and festivals kept in Jamaica all throughout the
(UWI Ganja Planting Ceremony)
ed how 2,000 Jamaicans have already gotten their criminal records expunged. The Minister also noted that those persons in Jamaica who have been charged for possession of ganja since the early 1970’s and who have not yet been convicted or acquitted, but whose names are still on record today for having a pending criminal charge will soon be acquitted.
As for all Jamaicans, ganja has now been decriminalized. The reform of ganja laws in Jamaica permits the growing of up to five plants per yard or home. Also, the decriminalization of two ounces of ganja or less (for personal use) has gone into effect. The Hon. Minister of Justice has already sent out a message to the police asking them to use their discretion on citizens possessing small quantities of ganja, As a result of the regulated especially since nearly half of ganja industry in Jamaica, a the arrests in the country have Cannabis Licensing Authority
has already been established for the purpose of licensing farmers, organizations, companies, educational and other institutions that are eligible to grow ganja for commercial and medical purposes. Two of these licenses to grow and study ganja have already been granted to the University of the West Indies and the University of Technology. Critically, although the Ganja Bill is a step in the right direction it has already begun to pose some problems! One issue that some Jamaicans have with the Ganja Bill is that the Rastafari community is no longer the only group of citizens in Jamaica who uses ganja religiously. In fact, many Jamaicans tend to bless up their chalices in the name of Jah Rastafari before taking a holy toke. So where do we draw the line between the sacramental and recreational consumption of ganja by Jamaicans, and how do we identify when a Rasta is consuming ganja as sacrament or as a recreation? Another problem some Jamaicans have with the Ganja Bill is that there are usually several independent living quarters in one yard so the limitation of only being able to grow up to five ganja plants ‘per yard’ is confusing and just not right! And though the Ganja Bill permits the growing of up to five plants per yard there has been no provision for Jamaicans to legally purchase seeds as of right now. When recently questioned by myself on this matter the Minister of Justice, Mark Golding, stated that such seeds would have to be sought after through the black market until Jamaica’s ganja seed bank is up and running. The Hon. Mark Golding even highlighted how ganja seeds are not illegal in Jamaica. Golding also mentioned that the government will need until the end of the year or early 2016 before the regulatory process is finally completed (Mark Golding’s recent presentation at a ganja symposium organized by the St. Catherine Ganja Growers Association on June 27th 2015 in Spanish Town). Despite the recent relaxation of Jamaica’s ganja laws some lobbyists are still critical especially since the Ganja Bill only permits much of what was already proposed to the government in 1977 by a Joint Select Committee of Parliament, and again in 2001 (see The Report of the National Ganja Commission). It is then quite evident that over the last four decades there has been no theoretical and concep-
Cannabis Digest • Summer 2015 tual development within the JaAlso in the month of Novemmaican government’s initiative ber the St. Catherine’s Ganja to reform ganja laws in Jamaica. Growers and Producers Association will keep Jamaica’s first But whilst the government ganja festival since the passing is moving like slowpokes, the of the Ganja Bill. Now we can ganja culture and activism in easily imagine ganja festivals Jamaica is becoming increas- taking place all throughout the ingly expressive which means 14 parishes of Jamaica with lothat interesting times are ahead! cals in partnership with memSince the April 2014 launch of bers of the international ganja the Ganja Growers and Produc- community. With reparations ers Association (GGPA) sev- for state violence against Rasta eral associations - of the like - still high on the community’s have been launched throughout agenda, the idea of Rastafari parishes such as St. Elizabeth, economic villages all over the Westmoreland, Manchester, St. island with the best edibles, Catherine, St. Thomas and St. oil extracts, vapor lounges and Ann. Presently all 14 parishes ganja tea/coffee shops for our in Jamaica have at least a single global ganja patients who visit ganja association. The GGPA Jamaica each year is not really has also been responsible for the far-fetched. And as we Jamaiformation of some parish asso- cans become pioneers of our ciations in Jamaica, while other own green gold rush some of us parish associations such as the are welcoming of overseas partWestmoreland Hemp and Gan- nership. Time is now! ja Farmers Association (WHGFA) led by renowned RasTo make a contribution totafari elder, Iyah V, are totally wards the Ganja Festival held independent of the GGPA. In on the 7th of November by the fact, the WHGFA has recently St. Catherine Ganja Growsigned off on a ten year contract ers and Producers Association with High Times valuing two please contact Rupert Walhundred million US dollars. As ters at rupiewal@yahoo.co.uk, a result of such a partnership Vicki Hanson vicki.j.hanson@ Jamaica will have its first Can- gmail.com or Robert ‘Ras Kahnabis Cup slated to take place leb’ Gordon at kahlebthefirst@ between the 12th and 15th of gmail.com. We are seeking inNovember 2015 in Negril. ternational partnership!
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Issue Number 45
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Colorado Embraces Legalization D e s p i t e P r o b l e m s , S t a t e I s E n v y O f Wo r l d
failed attempts, hermaphroditic plants, and nights sobbing into their promix. Those growers with knowledge are also rarely willing to help you learn, if you can even find one that might admit to their given profession.
December Kennedy Pesticide Use in Colorado en years ago, you’d be hard T pressed to find a cannabis garden with more
than ten lights hanging. The 20 lighter I visited back in 2009 was the exception. Despite the legality of medical cannabis gardens here in Colorado, even back then, the grower was still noticeably nervous about having visitors. So how did we go from being an underground, quiet, yet highly lucrative black market, to becoming the first state to house commercial grow operations with as many as 60,000 plants in them? And how did we do so this quickly?
Over the last ten years, this underground trade has morphed into a real life industry right here in Colorado. After deciding to open a dispensary to get in line for their promised windfall of cash, business owners are learning that those 10 light systems do not readily become 100 lights systems without many more growing pains. Growers who were successful with their 20 lights, were suddenly in
the dust from your fingers. For most cannabis enthusiasts, this is the extent of the experience. These methodical activities are all that they know of marijuana. Those who buy from one of our many pot shops have rarely wondered about where the product might have been before it arrived on the shelf. No one asked “Where did my marijuana come from?” Until now. Unless you knew “your guy” well enough that he’d let you see the stack of nutrients he fed his garden (before he rolled your ⅛ into a sandwhich baggy- licking the edge to keep it closed) you likely never wondered if there were pesticides sprayed on the
“this underground trade has morphed into a real life industry” charge of much larger gardens with no commercial experience to back them. While many of the basement growers of yesteryear are doing quite well with their new-found positions out in the real world, many of them are not.
dense flowers. Thanks to the local news here in Denver, we have learned that the people growing our plants (those same growers that likely came from their basements stacked with funny sounding nutes and bottles smeared with sticky molasses) have been spraying their can-
If you have ever grown marijuana as medicine, you understand that it is not easy, nor is it cheap. The amount of building materials necessary to outfit the average home into the nature-bending, pest and mold-free environment needed to grow quality cannabis fit for your own consumption is enough to have most users shy away from the hassle. If the cost doesn’t scare you, let the painstaking work have a shot. A cannabis garden, particularly your first few rounds from seed to harvest, will take between 4 and 8 hours of work every day, just to avoid the many pitfalls and mistakes that even talented growers will eventually face. That, my friend, is at the very least a part time job. In reality, it’s more like adding a full time job to your life, one that you cannot discuss with anyone. Growing quality cannabis is difficult, and anyone that tells you otherwise has probably never grown anything of note, let alone the dank nugget they are surely describing. Growers who have successfully grown their way out of the financial pit of cultivation likely did so only after years of
Cannabis use, whether medical or recreational, has always been a very intimate ritual. You touch the product, you bring it to your face and you smell the unmistakable woody scent. You crush the flowers, put them into your favorite pipe, bowl, or vaporizer, you add fire, and you inhale it deep into your lungs, shaking
nabis with off-label pesticides, and dangerous growth regulating hormones. The gardens in question, including the previously mentioned garden of over 60,000 plants, are generally rife with problems despite pesticide use. The very same issues that plague the nov-
ice home-grower have shown up on an industrial scale in the gardens littering the state, and it is only recently that the public has been made aware of this practice. This boils down to is one thing: crop insurance. The large scale grows, run largely by former basement growers, are operating on the principles of what they know, that is, basement growing. Get the crop up, get it out, and get it sold. Using pesticides or PGR’s (plant growth regulators) will ensure that the crop looks healthy, even when it is not. A subpar product is delivered, and there is no way for recipients to know what residual chemicals are inside the innocent looking green leaves. This fact, in turn, has hurt patients, harmed recreational users, and sent the entire country the message that regulation isn’t working quite as well as we had thought. This problem extends far beyond uninformed growers. It extends all the way to the Environmental Protection Agency itself, the regulating body that determines where and when pesticides may be used on plants that will come in contact with the public. Currently, the Federal law regarding cannabis keeps it tightly as a Schedule 1 substance, meaning it has no medical value and may be highly addictive. Because of this stance, any and all pesticide use for cannabis will technically be considered off-label by the EPA. This leaves business owners, growers and the public in legal limbo: one pesticide might be readily sprayed on tomatoes without harm to the consumer, but is banned from marijuana production simply by the Schedule 1 designation of the plant itself. Currently there are no marijuana specific pesticides on the market, and no word when there may be one available. However, with cannabis remaining a Schedule 1 substance, it doesn’t look like it will be any time soon. The issue is not without a fix. We needn’t look far to see that many of the common problems that cannabis cultivators are facing, have long been solved by the legal food industry that came before them. Large scale agricultural facilities exist in nearly every state, supplying us with the much needed fruits and vegetables we require for healthy living. They often do so without the use of harmful pesticides, and rarely need the kind of “crop insurance” that we are seeing inside the cannabis industry. Integrated Pest Management sys-
10
tems are available from many reputable companies, and can ensure the health and vitality of the plants on which they are used. Eagle 20, Avid and Floramite, the pesticides used by several Denver cultivators despite being flagged as off-label, may in fact harm the consumers who are purchasing their product, but the truth is that we just don’t have enough information yet. Many pesticides are safe, and effectively used to mitigate pest concerns up until they are sold in your local grocery store.
Cannabis Digest • Summer 2015 Others are known to be dangerous, and are strictly used on ornamental plants that are clearly labeled ‘unfit for human consumption.’
To the growers who went from their basements to commercial warehouses, and who did so amidst deep growing pains, high stakes and constant pressure, without using pesticides or off The safest bet for the growers label PGR’s, good for you. The and business owners alike, is to Colorado community salutes hire a professional with a Pes- you. ticide Applicator License registered with the State of Colorado. This person has been trained on safe and effective pest and mold management for food and ornamental commercial crops alike, and will ensure that your business is following the strict letter of the law.
December is COO of Dutch Hort, An Author, Medical Marijuana Activist, Radio Host, and a Mother of three.
Issue Number 45
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Cannabis Oil & Epilepsy Point and Counterpoint
Judith Stamps Some Thoughts on Recent Events othing has captured the N public imagination and influenced lawmakers more pow-
have said it since: safety is not IT HASN’T BEEN TESTED an issue for cannabis, as in thouFOR SAFETY AND EFFICACY sands of years of use there have been no deaths attributable to This is a favourite slogan of gov- it. Moreover, cannabis fans and ernment ministries and medical their children are about as norauthorities, and precisely the mal as any other people. phrase used by Canadian Health Minister Rona Ambrose when You can measure prohibitionist she visited the West Coast this bias by whether or not a speaker spring. The phrase is meant to or writer is waving the big safesound impartial. But in rela- ty flag. By that standard, the tion to cannabis oil, it’s become CNN’s “Weeds” documentary is be a powerful invitation to see reasonably unbiased, and the enoneself as a juvenile in relation tries on Cannabis and on CBD to a nanny state. As such it in Wikipedia are not. The Cachafes against natural parenting nadian 2002 Senate Committee impulses. Parents have a vis- Report on Cannabis is unbiased, ceral need to keep their family and the educational materials safe, and that includes providing produced by the current Minisfamily members with medicines try of Health are not. The June that work. For many young epi- 2015 Weed article in National
erfully in recent months than the news on CBD-rich cannabis oil and its remarkable ability to quell seizures in children with epilepsy. Since the 2013 airing of CNN’s documentary, “Weeds I,” which brought us the story of young Charlotte Figi and her successful battle with Dravet’s Syndrome, scores of families have relocated to liberally minded Colorado to obtain this oil, as it is illegal in their home states. Meanwhile, 14 other states have legalized it. Canadian children have experienced similar relief from cannabis oil acquired locally with the tacit approval of law enforcement. It remains illegal at the federal level.
“Parents of young patients are the new participants in this movement.”
For students of cannabis history these events are surprising only in their timing and swiftness. Cannabis oil is mentioned as a remedy for “seizures of childhood” in the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report of 1894; in the earlier 19th century accounts of William O’Shaughnessy; in early 20th century American formularies; in post World War II classified CIA and military cannabis experiments; in a 1949 study by Davis and Ramsey, which tested cannabis oil on 5 institutionalized children with good to neutral results; and in a 1980 study by Cunha et al. on 19 young patients with good results. There have to be scores of others buried in archives and lists of abstracts.
leptics the current medicines don’t work, and have life-threatening side effects. Calls for safety and efficacy these days are politically loaded.
Despite these facts, federal authorities on ‘drugs’ in both countries have been sharply critical. Doctors, scientists and on-lookers continue to raise objections, to whit: cannabis oil hasn’t been tested for safety or efficacy; there is no evidence that it really works; the parents in question are using their children as guinea pigs; and we don’t know the long-term effects. Today’s blog explores these objections.
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Instead they lied to the public and erected roadblocks. For over 20 years now patients have been taking the lead. THERE IS NO PROOF Parents of young patients are the new participants in this movement. Predictably they’re finding themselves juxtaposed to medical authorities stating: there is no proof. Meanwhile they give their kids cannabis oil, and watch the seizures abate. Science is based on observation. Every parent, and especially grandparent, has over the years observed enough to become something of a scientist on the subject of child health and development. If the evidence provided by their senses does not qualify as proof, then let’s set aside that concept for now and replace it with something more useful. I recommend the alternative: Reasonably Justified Belief. Are these parents reasonably justified in believing that cannabis oil stops seizures? Absolutely. Is that akin to proof ? No. For all we know cannabis oil could be having a gravitational effect on the parents of epileptics, who then transmit calming vibes to their child’s brain.
True conservatives and other thoughtful persons place value on historically based knowledge. Lester Grinspoon said it in the 70s, and countless others
Geographic is reasonably balanced; the concurrent Weed article in Time is not.
To date there seems to be no description of how cannabis stops seizures. One hears similar things said about aspirin and headaches. But no one goes around saying that there is no proof that aspirin can stop a headache.
In the matter of efficacy it cannot be said often enough that governments, doctors, medical schools, and the scientific community have had plenty of op- There is a longstanding North portunity in the last 75 years to American tradition of ingenuity study the benefits of cannabis. and self-help that is suspicious of authority. It is the bearers of this tradition that broke through ‘medical’ barriers in the 1970s to win the fight for natural childbirth. Self-helpers have an everyperson’s idea of who can and cannot make claims on science’s behalf, especially when it comes to their health and that of their children. We don’t know yet what percentage or types of seizures cannabis can stop, but the self-helpers already know that it doesn’t stop them all. That counts as scientific knowledge. Critics have suggested that we cannot as yet distinguish cannabis effects from placebo effects. Infants can’t have placebo effects. There is a quality of dignity that comes from relying on one’s own resources and judgment that no
Cannabis Digest • Summer 2015 medicine and no medical system joyful. No one in this process is population has tried some form can replace being used. of cannabis. They’re fine. We should be more worried about People whom legal medicines the long-term effects of science THE PARENTS ARE USING have failed and whose children and media hype. Look what THEIR KIDS AS GUINEA are in peril have no leisure for they’ve done with food. Eat PIGS experimentation. Outside ob- fat. No, don’t. Eat carbs. Nope, servers might see giving canna- wrong again. Dine on oat bran. This statement is documented bis oil to children as an experi- It cures everything. Actually, in the recent National Geo- ment. But they are not in pain, it’s blueberries and kale that do graphic article on cannabis, and and pain changes everything. that. Breaking news! It’s all can be heard in news reports on about fermented stuff. Here’s a You Tube. food pyramid. It contradicts the WE DON’T YET KNOW THE last one. Who are these people? Metaphors are powerful. This LONG TERM EFFECTS Do we want them teaching us one says: giving your kids canabout cannabis? nabis oil means that you’ve True, we don’t. But children downgraded them from human with seizure syndromes do not Small communities who share to experimental animal status. have a long term. Mortality rate their observations serve us best. That’s flat out wrong. for these illnesses is 15-20% by Our clearest path to progress, age 20. For intractable cases it’s and our surest defense against Parents faced with the prospect much worse. Many parents say of a child’s demise, with no oth- that their children have already er remedy in sight, are more like come close to death, sometimes those men and women who pio- as a consequence of prescribed neered new surgical techniques medicines. in wartime field hospitals, doing what had to be done. Or they For the seizing child and his are like people caught in a flood, or her parents time stands still and who have jumped into a or moves at an agonizingly slow lifeboat. pace. In that state ‘long term’ alters its meaning. The guinea pig metaphor also It is reasonable to believe that says: these parents are using if cannabis produced disastrous their children. This image does long-term effects the historical not begin to do justice to the records would have mentioned meaning of family. Mother, fa- it. Cannabis oil is a very old ther, and child are not radically medicine. separate beings. They’re an organic unit: children’s seizures CONCLUSION hurt every family member, and their cessation makes everyone Nearly half the North American
bullshit is to stay in touch with them. State and local governments can be pretty good too. New motto: Observe.
Keep Cool and
Issue Number 45
www.CannabisDigest.ca
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Vote For Change NORML Works To Get The Vote Out In Fall Election Senate Report on Cannabis by Pierre-Claude Nolin if you have doubts. The NDP knows better. This is a shabby, tactical decision in which the party has apparently concluded they cannot get elected by taking a strong, progressive policy on cannabis legalization. The NDP do not deserve your vote. They should be punished for their weak, craven policy. Paul Lewin NORML’s Canada Election Project
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n October 19, 2015 Canadians will vote in the most important election in the history of cannabis in Canada. NORML Canada is usually nonpartisan. We are proudly nonpartisan. However, this election is different. In this election the Liberals are formally supporting cannabis legalization. This is a bold, unprecedented position for a major party to take going into a general election. The Liberal position stands in sharp contrast with the Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party. NORML Canada believe we have to support the Liberals not just to get them elected and bring about legalization, but also as part of a longer term strategy to show all the parties that they ignore the cannabis vote at their electoral peril.
You could say that the bad have never been so bad, the weak never so weak, and the good never so bold and promising. Simply put, the stakes have never been so high and the choices never so stark. It is for these reasons that NORML Canada has decided to support the Liberals in the 2015 election. We know that the Liberals might change their mind once elected and not implement legalization. We know that there are many other Liberal policies with which our members might not agree. We do not agree with everything the Liberals stand for. However, on the one big important issue we agree whole-heartedly.
We have been working on an election project intended to achieve these short and longterm goals. There are a number of different components to NORML Canada’s election project: http://norml.ca/election/ Get Out The Vote This is the most important facet of the election project. It is critical that cannabis people vote in this election. We are all going to vote and we are going to encourage our family, friends, neighbours, co-workers, hockey-buddies, and band-mates to also vote. NORML Canada is going to work hard to make sure everybody votes. To that end, we are gathering names / emails / postal codes for a get-out-thevote push during the week before the election. During the week before the election we will politely and courteously remind everyone where and when to vote. We will assist with any questions about voter registration. In some ridings we may be able to assist with transporta-
The NDP are traditionally a progressive party on cannabis. Unfortunately, under Thomas Mulcair, they claim cannabis legalization requires more study before we can legalize. Cannabis and cannabis prohibition have been studied plenty. Have a look at the 650 page
Harper Postcards We have created postcards addressed to Stephen Harper that we are disseminating across the country. The postcards tell Mr. Harper that the sender of the postcard will be voting on this one issue and will be pounding the pavement to defeat the Conservatives. There is no postage required in order to send mail to a sitting MP. People who agree with the postcards need only sign or print their name on the card and drop it in a mailbox. This sends a message to the Conservative Party that their terrible cannabis policies will cost them votes on election day. Marijuana Bullets
How different is the Liberal position from the other two major parties? The Conservative Party brought us the expensive, knuckle-headed, mean-spirited, and unconstitutional mandatory minimum sentences. This is a significant step backwards in cannabis policy. This is also the party that seeks to permanently end personal growing. This is the party that says cannabis is not medicine. This party would, if they could, put us all in jail. The reason they want to put us in jail is not because they hate cannabis. They know nothing about cannabis. What the Conservative Party knows about cannabis would not fill a joint. They want to put us in jail because they think it will get them re-elected. They think there are votes in an anti-cannabis policy.
legalization. We will be listing the results on our web site. Of course, most will provide some version of the party line. However, this does three things. First, it tells these would-be MPs that their position on cannabis issues matters. This informs not only the putative MP, but it also informs the party that cannabis issues matter. Second, it forces all candidates to think about cannabis issues. Third, the results of this inquiry will be set out on our web site so that cannabis voters can see the positions of the candidates in their riding. It is our hope that over time this will become a grading system in which prospective candidates get a grade on cannabis issues.
By supporting the Liberals we are helping to bring about legalization. That is our short-term plan. We also have a longerterm goal of influencing cannabis policy in Canada.
tion. We will remind everybody as to the positions of each of the parties on cannabis legalization. In order to proceed with the get-out-the-vote campaign we must gather the names / emails / postal codes. We need the postal codes as that will help us know where you are and where you will vote. We will keep your information private. Nobody gets access to our databases. We began this process at the 420s and GMMs. We will be reaching out to cannabis shops and dispensaries across the country – asking them to help us gather the get-out-the vote information. We ask those reading this to go to our web site and enter your information. The Conservative Party and the NDP think that cannabis people and young people don’t vote. We are going change that.
We have concerns about the laws that might be enacted under a legalized regime. Will legalization include personal growing? Will punitive rules be applied to the cannabis industry and the cannabis consumer? We do not know. Legalization is only the first step. We want prohibition replaced with fair and just laws. In order to achieve that goal we want all the political parties to believe they have to cater to the cannabis vote. We want them to fear the cannabis vote. We want to become the Canadian cannabis NRA. Unfortunately, in order to sway politicians, we need more than just good arguments. We have had those for a while. MP Statement Campaign We have to recognize the reality of party politics: political parties We are asking every candidate do what is in their best interests. state their position on cannabis
We are drafting bullets / talking points which will be made available to candidates who wish to better arm themselves on the cannabis issues. The footnoted bullets will debunk a lot of the common myths surrounding cannabis. We will show them that cannabis is a mild substance of low toxicity which can be used medicinally to heal both body and mind. Help us tell the Conservative Party they must change their ways or face electoral pain. Help us tell the NDP that they will get your vote back when they do the right thing on cannabis legalization. Help us tell the Liberals that supporting cannabis legalization was a smart vote-getting policy which will get them elected. Sign-up for the get-out-thevote campaign with NORML Canada. Request Harper postcards for your cannabis club. Tell everyone you know to vote Liberal. Donate to NORML Canada, volunteer for NORML Canada, and on October 19 – vote Liberal.
Cannabis Digest â&#x20AC;˘ Summer 2015
Issue Number 45
www.CannabisDigest.ca
High Cour Historic Case Cha
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ries of relief and outrage could be heard across Canada early in the morning of June 11, 2015. Tears of joy streamed down many faces as news spread about another blow to cannabis prohibition, though not everyone joined the celebrations. A humbled Owen Smith proudly spoke of a new era in cannabis medicines. ``Ă&#x152;t is a profound honor to be the person standing at the center of a very important case.`` In an unanimous decision handed down June 11, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the federal government had violated the constitutional rights of patients by allowing them access to raw, dried cannabis, but prohibiting them from extracting the resins or making other derivatives. The implications are huge. Huge. Instead of accepting defeat, federal Minister responsible for Health Canada, Rona Ambrose expressed her outrage at the courts and vowed to she would never say cannabis was a medicine. Her attacks were aimed at the court for undermining the drug approval process and for making cannabis more acceptable. It is clear the Conservatives are waging a war against the cannabis culture, with patients easily caught in the crossfire. `Never in the history of Canada has a drug become a medicine because judges deemed it so. There is a regulatory approval processâ&#x20AC;Ś with clinical evidence and safely reviews so that we can protect the health of Canadians.`` Admitting patients are being used as pawns in a larger political strategy, Ambrose declared, `` We will continue to fight againstâ&#x20AC;Ś this kind of message. As I have said repeatedly, this is part of a larger issue. We have to continue to get the message out that it is not a drug.`` Effective immediately, this decision created chaos for the rulers of Health Canada on several fronts. Patients could possess cannabis derivatives without fear of the law, but there is no where for them to purchase those products legally. The
medical professional is unprepared to handle cannabis derivatives, yet they embrace the opportunity to use it in forms other than smoked or vaporized. Licensed Producers have been screaming for authorization to sell these new products, while the pharmaceutical industry has felt a cold chill run through its accounting department. When the decision came out, Ambrose stated the federal government wants to fight this decision by the Supreme Court of Canada. However, on July 8 Health Canada announced new regulations that grant patients and LPs an Exemption #56 from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. These new exemptions have many problems that will no doubt be fought over in court for years, as with the Parker case, after which the government created terrible regulations that were struck down in court multiple times before being scrapped altogether.
When the Parker decision was handed down by the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2000, the courts did not force the government to supply cannabis. Instead of allowing Prairie Plant Systems to sell what they were growing in a mine for research, Health Canada created a program which allowed patients, or a designated caregiver, to grow their own medicine. In Oct 2003, in the Hitzig ruling, that scenario was struck down as unconstitutional and the government was told they needed to find a means for patients to purchase cannabis for medical purposes. Soon after, courts began to throw out possession charges, stating that as long as the federal government fails to provide a legal source of cannabis the law is unconstitutional,
Many are frustrated that the judges did not give clear instructions to fix the problem, but there are reasons why the courts have been limited in their decision. First, Owen was charged when the Medical Marijuana Access Program was in effect, not the current Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations, so there was no evidence about LPs provided to the court until late into the proceedings. In their decision the judges struck down two sections of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, sending a strong message that no matter what medical program is in effect, patients have the right to cannabis extracts. Secondly, Owen was charged with possession of cannabis and possession for the purposes of trafficking THC, but not with production, even though he was caught baking cookies with a fridge full of cannabisinfused vegetable oils. While the courts saw fit to expand their decisions from the charge of THC to include all derivatives, they did not include production when they struck down sections of the CDSA as unconstitutional. This creates a legal lacuna, and it is not the first time something like this has happened to cannabis prohibition.
(Ted Smith and Owen Smith in
Cannabis Digest • Summer 2015
rt Heroics nges Canadian Law and no one can be convicted of simple possession. Seizing the moment, Marc Emery did the cross Canada tour Summer of Legalization in 2004, smoking cannabis in front of a police station in every province of the country to prove the law was not in full force and effect. He and his bong were arrested at about one half of the police stations. All of the charges were eventually thrown out with around 4,000 other possession charges that year. Late in the summer of 2004, Health Canada began to allow PPS to ship its cannabis to patients, sealing the lacuna. In the meantime, charges against myself and others arrested in compassion club raids before the breach was fixed were dropped, as were other charges against grow-
ers supplying these organizations. A decade later Health Canada scrapped the MMAR entirely, as court challenge after court challenge exposed its weaknesses and patients started accessing the program in larger numbers than the government had considered when the program started.
at her own office instead of vitriolically condemning a unanimous Supreme Court of Canada decision with a bunch of justices that her boss [Stephen Harper] appointed to that court. Maybe she should go back to the drawing board, listen to patients for a change, and come up with a system that is going to work.”
At the heart of this case has been the fact cannabis has never gone through the drug approval process. No plant has ever gone through the drug approval process, as it is meant to study synthetic chemicals, not whole plant medicines that have far more variables and are not as consistent in chemical makeup. It is much like trying to put a square peg in a round hole.
Instead, Health Canada’s exemptions place several unreasonable restrictions on the amount of THC a patient can use daily, and the types of cannabis extracts that LPs can sell. They state specifically that extractions made with organic solvents like BHO and butane are illegal. Thus LPs will not be selling products like shatter, honey oil or budder any time soon. The allowed percentage of THC--maximum 3%Crown Prosecutor Paul Riley in -is so low that hash does not seem to his arguments before the Supreme be on the menu either. Court of Canada went so far as to say that the courts were creating a Smith’s lawyer, Kirk Tousaw, is fourth new path to get a drug on the struck by the poor structure of this market. Calling it an extra-regula- plan. “Unfortunately for Canadian tory means to sell a drug, Riley and patients, Health Canada’s response Ambrose have expressed frustration to the unanimous Supreme Court with the judiciary for considering of Canada decision will not signifievidence about the benefits of can- cantly improve patient access to denabis to be substantial enough to rivative medicines. In fact, Health warrant dismantling the laws. This Canada has, once again, responded is the first time the courts have to a court Charter of Rights and stopped the government from creat- Freedoms ruling by making the ing a blanket prohibition on a drug most minimal change possible, and or plant, first with cannabis and now attempting to restrict the Supreme its derivatives, and those interested Court of Canada decision to just in maintaining the drug war are not fresh cannabis and cannabis oil, not happy. all derivative medicines.” Defense lawyer Kirk Tousaw, who was brilliant in both his written and oral arguments, attempted to have the high court strike cannabis out of the CDSA entirely, forcing the government to control its sale with the Natural Health Products Act. While this is ultimately the most intelligent direction for the government to go, the court did not see fit to go that far, instead immediately striking down the law to protect patients, but not meddling in the policy decisions of government. We can only hope the next political party in charge does it without being forced by the courts.
the Supreme Court of Canada)
By Ted Smith
Tousaw`s reaction to the statement`s made by Ambrose were eloquent. “[She] is busy blaming the courts when she should really be looking
With this historical victory, a great blow has been struck to the Achilles Heel of cannabis prohibition. Though the war wages on, one can sense the growing frustration of the Conservatives and their prohibitionist friends as more citizens join the chorus for sane drug policies. Owen Smith and Kirk Tousaw will be known in history for changing the most backward law this country has ever seen.
Issue Number 45
www.CannabisDigest.ca
FROM THE ASHES RISE A PHOENIX
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Parksville Club Busted tion in Nanaimo’s downtown core.
By Dean Schwind “I’m gonna change you like a remix, Then I’ll raise you like a phoenix” – Fall Out Boy
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the needs of their members further interupted by the April 2, 2015 raid north on Vancouver Island. by RCMP on the Phoenix location which came as a surprise to activists and patients in the community alike. Despite a well established record of judicial support for not for profit compassion clubs in past cases, as well as the very real possibility of wins in the then unheard Smith and Allard challenges, Parksville authorities and RCMP chose to raid seizing much needed medicine and arresting Karl Mitchell, one of the dispensary’s volunteer staff members, who was later released on a promise to appear in Nanaimo Provincial Court.
ith the winds of change blowing at gale force in the world of medical cannabis it’s challenging to keep up with all the new players, regulations, and landmark legal battles surrounding the weed. Generally, the message is a positive one, with BC leading the country in establishing new rules and regulations to control the emerging medical cannabis industry, and in doing so, instantly legitimizing it and establishing it as a legal way to make a living despite the federal threats and rumblings of a dying Progressive Conservative party. There are basically three models of dispensary that seems to have developed amongst the eager players in the new industry; The traditional, Physician prescribed and federally licenced type club that only accepts members that have the card from Health Canada. The ‘proof of condition club’ that requires documentation of an illness by various means from prescription bottles to copies of hospital records or other verifiable health assessments. Finally, the boutique retail pot shop peeking out from behind the shield afforded by the medical cannabis moniker. In Nanaimo BC, there is a proof of condition club that has quickly established itself as the serious player in the mid island region reaching the 800 member mark in a matter of months of quiet opera-
The Phoenix Pain Management Society is a not for profit grassroots The society set up a small quiet organization made up of passionate operation in Parksville BC and activists and survivors of life threat- slowly began to accumulate local ening illness that have established members. That quiet operation was a warm and friendly environment modelled very much after Victoria’s 18 year veteran compassion club, the VCBC. Within months of opening it’s doors in Nanaimo the crew at Phoenix recognized that a large number of their new members were driving down island from communities without dispensaries like nearby Parksville and Qualicum Beach, and from as far away as Campbell River and Tofino. After some consideration the board of directors at Phoenix decided to open a second location in Parksville to service
Fortunately, the flames of the raid have given birth to a new stronger Phoenix. A Phoenix that can now stand amongst other compassion societies that have taken the unjust and unconstitutional laws on with costly challenges through the countries legal system to force the change called for by many Canadians. Support for the Phoenix crew has flooded in from many of the well established clubs that recognize the societies commitment to the cause. With the engagement of Kirk Tousaw, the SCC winning council that guided our fearless publisher and the Owen Smith group successfully through the legal labyrinth that has lead to freeing cannabis extract in Canada, to represent them; the Phoenix crew are feeling confident of a win that will further strengthen their hard
Cannabis Digest • Summer 2015 earned reputations as serious committed activists with a well organized and professional operation. In the long term the Phoenix Pain Management Society has plans for expansion into the northern communities on Vancouver Island, and hope to be able to offer medical cannabis products from Duncan to Campbell River with potential satellite outlets in Port Alberni and Tofino as early as later this year. With an intense community focus the not for profits director Akil Pessoa foresees a time in the near future when the society will reach out to empower youth, defend patients rights, and advocate for social justice on many fronts taking an active role in the communities they will offer services in, “We would like to actively participate in educating and informing the public about the benefits of medical cannabis as well as helping to shape a more compassionate society” said Pessoa. The Nanaimo club location is simply set up and well stocked with an excellent supply of many strains of flowers, Beard Bros shatter, bubble and afghan hash, THC and CBD caps, Phoenix tears made from RSO oil, cannabis creams and balms, and a wide variety of medables that have been approved by the Vancouver Island Health Authority. It’s exciting times for Phoenix, with an ever increasing membership, a growing mail order business, and the imminent birth of the new Phoenix Cannabis Journal
that will soon take it’s place on line with other leading cannabis publications. An exciting pro cannabis ezine featuring the voices of long time Vancouver Island activists like Nanaimo club manager Amand Orum, as well as Karl Mitchell the courageous activist who is still facing charges for the Parkville raid, and other pro cannabis voices, blogging and witting feature articles about the world of cannabis. The June 24th hearing of the Mitchell case in BC provincial court has been postponed and reassigned from the original Nanaimo venue to the Vancouver courts with a new date as yet undetermined. News that was greeted with jubilation by the cannabis community as Vancouver crown council has a losing record in the prosecution of medical cannabis cases, and any jury comprised of Vancouverites will very likely be overwhelmingly pro medical cannabis leading to an acquittal. The win in the Smith extracts SCC challenge and the inevitable coming win in Allard in BCSC will have significant effect on the Mitchell case removing at least two of the pillars of the crowns case that will lead to the dropping of charges entirely, or to a costly and futile show from a crown council trapped between federal demands for action and the “on the ground” realities of the emerging industry. Today, the residents of the mid island have been offered a view
into the near future. Phoenix Pain Management Society can be proud of it’s mandate to help it’s members to take control of their own health care and to offer an alternative to big pharma. Much like its mentor the VCBC, integrity, honesty, passion, and love are reflected in the attitude and efforts of the staff, and the smiling faces of the members.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS 1. Silence—You can refuse to talk to the police or answer their questions. You must give your name, birthdate, and address, or show them your ID. You DO NOT have to say anything else. 2. You can say NO if police ask to search any of your things. 3. You can leave unless you are being arrested or detained 4. You have the right to know why you are being detained, and to speak privately to a lawyer—even if you can’t pay. 5. You can only be strip-searched in private, and only by someone of the same sex. 6. You have the right to know the officers’ badge numbers. 7. You can report an officer who abuses me, swears at me, or violates your rights Example of what to say if you are being detained: “Officer, if I am under arrest or being detained, please tell me so...If I am free to go, please tell me so. If I am not free to go, please tell me why...I wish to exercise all my leagal rights, including my right to silence and my right to speak to a lawyer, before I say anything to you. I do not consent to be searched. I wish to be released without delay...Please do not ask me questions, because I will not willingly talk to you until I speak to a lawyer...Thank you for respecting my rights.” *Every situation is different. Use courtesy, and common sense.
Legal Aid BC: 1-866-577-2525 Check out Pivot Legal Society for more info < www.pivotlegal.org>
Issue Number 45
www.CannabisDigest.ca
Deciphering RvSmith Government Issues Section 56 Exemptions
suspension to buy them time to create new regulations. The crown had reminded the judges that crafting regulations is very complex and difficult and takes time. However on July 8th, less than one month later, Health Canada issued a series of Section 56’s exemptions to parties involved in the medical marihuana regulatory frameworks. Owen Smith
he landslide 7-0 decision T from the Supreme Court of Canada in my favour is now a
landmark in the landscape of Canadian cannabis litigation. The facts that we assembled form a fortified field position for further advancements against the forces of cannabis prohibition. While the war wages on, the battle of R v Smith is finally over. The media coverage of the Supreme Court of Canada ruling was a series of short and simplified stories attempting, with little success, to explain the details of our constitutional arguments. The news focused on the absurdity of children smoking to abate their epilepsy, when an edible oil is obviously more suitable. This extreme example is sure to connect with many Canadians who were previously unaware of the horror these families go through. The media repeated that the court had permitted patients to choose one form over another. It should be made clear that making an extract is not a trivial choice for patients, but a logical process one undertakes to achieve the sought after benefits, and avoid unhealthy contamination from potentially hazardous plant material. The reports that patients can now eat their cannabis instead of just inhaling it are not precisely true. Patients were previously permitted to eat their cannabis as long as they ate the aforementioned plant material. When considering the impact of the Supreme Court ruling, it is important to understand the role of the court. It was a point that was heavily stressed by the government’s lawyers: the court does not make laws. It is left up to the “wisdom” of the elected parliament to formulate laws which are consistent with the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Canadian constitution. Courts only strike laws down that are found, through expert evidence and scrutiny, to be inconsistent with those rights. The ruling went into effect immediately despite the Harper government’s request for a 1 year
When I read that the government were allowing LP’s to sell derivatives in response to my Supreme Court Ruling, my first thought was ‘fire up the chocolate factory!’ Upon further reading it doesn’t seem that the old Hershey plant at Tweed will be making anything so exciting. Tweed announced their upcoming Oil Extract Products on the same day, but their exemption will not allow their cannabis oil to contain any external flavours or scents. This and many other interesting nuances are apparent upon a further examination of these new government exemptions.
The distinct use of the term “cannabis” refers to all substances listed under Cannabis in schedule 2 of the CDSA: Resin, THC, CBD, CBN. “Cannabis oil” means an oil, in liquid form, that contains cannabis or dried marihuana. “Fresh marijuana” appears to be a new term to describe the plant material. The “fresh marihuana buds and leaves” that can now be provided may presumably be used for making an extract. I am unsure at what point “Fresh Marihuana” becomes “Dried Marihuana”. The creation of a seemingly arbitrary classification of “fresh marihuana” is akin to the government’s insistence upon retaining the term “dried marihuana” despite its definition being found arbitrary by the courts. Patients’ doses of cannabis oil will still be determined by their prescribed daily amount of dried marihuana. This limits them to the maximum cannabinoids possibly produced by and extracted from their dried flower. The weight of
(Owen Smith outside the Supreme Court of Canada)
When announcing the exemptions, Health Canada also stated that dispensaries are illegal. It should be remembered, now that LP’s have been permitted to create derivative products, that it was patients and fore-runner dispensaries that gave their time, and paid the price to make this opportunity a reality. I was arrested in 2009 providing cannabis derivative products to hundreds of people at the Victoria Cannabis Buyers club, when there was no hint of an MMPR.
the dried plant material isn’t directly related to the weight of the cannabinoids, 5 grams of 10% THC dried marihuana will only yield half as much cannabinoid as 5 grams of 20% THC.
Licensed Producers have been tasked with determining their own “equivalency factor”: how much fresh marihuana or cannabis oil is equal to one gram of dried marihuana. Here is my attempt at finding the equivalency factor of one MMPR strain, assuming no cannabinoids are lost I have paraphrased some points during the extraction process. to help dissect the legal language of the Section 56 exemptions A Licensed Producer may prothat relate to patients and Li- vide a patient with 30x their censed Producers, but I am not a daily dose or 150 grams of dried lawyer and this shouldn’t be con- marihuana per month, whichever fused with legal advice. is less. A five gram per day allowance of CanniMed® 22·1, which LICENSED PRODUCERS is 22% THC could yield an unlikely maximum of 1.1g or 1100 LP’s can now apply for a sup- mgs of THC per day. The terms plemental license to sell, provide, of the exemption stipulate that ship, deliver or transport canna- THC content must be diluted to bis, cannabis oil and fresh mari- 30 mg/ml. 1100 mg would have huana to their patients. to be diluted into at least a 37ml
19
solution. A 30 day supply would total an absolute maximum of 33 grams or 33,000 mg of THC. To meet this dose ratio, the 33,000 mg of THC would need to be infused into a 1,080 ml solution. This is just over 1 litre of infused coconut oil, for example; don’t eat it all at once. LPs may also choose to make diluted products for patients who need less potent doses. Using the above mathematics, patients could order just over 3 litres of cannabis oil containing 10 mg/ ml THC, which is more dilute. LPs are restricted to 10 mg/ml when providing cannabis oil in a capsule: applying the above 33 gram per month formula to CanniMed® 22·1, would equal 360 9 mg/ml capsules. Fresh uncured CanniMed® 22·1 is likely to contain more THC-acid. THC-acid turns into THC when it attains a certain temperature, through a process called decarboxylation. Health Canada insists that THC-acid and THC be added together when considering the 30 mg/g limit in the plant solution. THCacid is not psychoactive, but also has less demonstrated medicinal potential. LPs must explain their methods for discerning what quantity of “fresh marihuana” is equivalent to “one gram of dried marihuana” on their websites and on the product label. The mg/g limit only applies to THC and THCa combined, not CBD, CBN, CBG or any others. 5 grams of CBD dominant extract made from CanniMed® 1·13, which is 13% CBD can yield a maximum of 50 mg THC and 650 mg CBD per day, or 1500 mg THC 19,500 mg CBD over 30 days. Measuring cannabinoids by the milligram is a new approach for many, but follows the lead of places like Colorado and Washington, where cannabis extracts are legal. You may well come to like it. I predict an increase in doctors’ willingness to explore cannabis extracts to correspond with this standardization and labelling of products by Licensed Producers. Some dispensaries already do this. There are emerging software platforms that can help doctors to monitor their patients’ cannabis use, and accumulate data to specify milligram doses. Check out Syqe Medical and Canlio. The inclusion of cannabis derivatives from the menus of Licensed Producers is very hopeful news for the MMPR. A market report predicted that “licensed producers could potentially double their EBITDA without adding any production capacity, and
Cannabis Digest • Summer 2015 little capital and operational expenses.” They “currently have to dispose and incinerate of 70% of their product.” More importantly, this is good news for MMPR patients who previously had to break the law to make their own oils.
The exemption prohibits the use of any “organic solvent” meaning “any organic compound that is highly flammable, explosive or toxic, including (but not limited to) petroleum naphtha and compressed liquid hydrocarbons, such as butane, iso-butane, propane, and propylene” to extract the active compounds. ForMMAR EXEMPTEES tunately there are simpler ways to do this that include dry sifting For those protected by the Al- and the Rosin technique; look it lard injunction, MMAR, PPL up. and DPL holders, the new rules seem brightest. While the limits on an MMAR exemptee are still defined by the gram per day allowance designated by their physician, many MMAR exemptees have licences that permit more than 5 grams of dried marihuana per day. The terms and conditions state multiple times that “5 g of fresh marihuana is equivalent to 1 g of dried marihuana.” If you are designated 5 grams/ day of dried marihuana, you can produce an extract using 25 grams of the “fresh marihuana” plant. If you skilfully produce plants yielding 20% THC, 25 grams can yield up to 5 grams or 5000 mg of THC per day. Unlike with LPs and MMPR patients, I see nowhere specified that this extract has to be diluted to 30 mg/gram. Look up fresh frozen solventless extraction on the internet for details.
altered product, for example, lozenges made with an infused coconut oil. Exemptees are restricted to 150 grams of dried marijuana while not at their production site. At the aforementioned ratios, that permits extracts derived from up to 750 grams of “fresh marihuana” to be possessed outside of your production site. Designated Producers are also restricted to carrying the equivalent of 150 grams of dried marihuana. All fresh marijuana and
(Owen Smith inside the Supreme Court of Canada)
Any product resulting from an alteration in the chemical or physical properties of dried or fresh marijuana can now be created. The authorized person is also permitted to possess any product that is derived from an
cannabis oil must be added together with any dried marihuana when considering the allowable limit. 500 grams of fresh marihuana and 50 grams of dried marihuana, or their equivalent in oil, would remain within the
150 gram limit. Persons providing assistance are restricted to possessing a one day amount or the equivalent of 5 grams dried marihuana. Making an extracted cannabis oil is as easy as pouring dried material soaked in vegetable oil through a sieve. Dr. Pate’s expert botanical evidence during my trial made it clear that cannabis extraction is so easy that it is often performed accidentally. The resin glands grow and swell while dangling at the tops of their brittle stems, awaiting that faintest agitation to release them from their fibrous host. By discarding the inert plant material, patients are free to consume their medicinal products in a safer and more effective way. This is truly the end of my 5 1/2 year journey with medical cannabis extracts and the courts. The impact of this ruling will ripple through the lives of countless Canadians to come. I am eternally grateful for the support of Ted Smith, Gayle Quin, all the staff, helpers and members (especially those who testified) of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, who helped turn what could have been a nightmare into a dream come true. When people call me a hero, I say these people are my heroes.
Issue Number 45
www.CannabisDigest.ca
22
Cannabis Digest • Summer 2015
Updates, Warnings and Suggestions
Ted Smith
W
ell it has been a very exciting spring for us at the Cannabis Digest. A victory party was held at Gayle Quin’s property after the June 11 Supreme Court of Canada victory, giving supporters a chance to celebrate with her, Owen Smith, Kirk Tousaw, myself and many other activists. The joy could be felt across the country, and has lasted for weeks. Everyone was super happy to be celebrating with Gayle, who came very close to dying last fall. She is still quite frail and weak but she is definitely slowly improving. Please check out her note for more details on her fight to stay alive. It has been surreal saving her life with cannabis while we fought our way to the Supreme Court of Canada for her medicine, and we are so very grateful to everyone who has supported us through this terrible ordeal. We hope that she is able to recover enough to travel with me a lot more as time goes by, but for now we are just so grateful she is alive and witnessing all of the incredible developments in the movement. She has truly become a beacon of hope for everyone fighting cancer or supporting someone who is.
that the city of Victoria is getting ready to license dispensaries. So far it seems like the bylaws will not negatively affect the club, but as you can read in my article there
So many have missed the weekly Team 420 dodgeball games, but it is not possible for me to start those back up. This is also the first event for which we have got
The following week, the 420 gatherings at the University of Victoria start back up again for the school year. With the circle firmly back in the middle of campus, it is certain the group will once again be the largest student club at UVic. Watch out for the UBC Hempology 101 club, too, as it has been quite active in the last couple of years, and is poised to grow even bigger this year.
For those who really love our paper and would like a bunch of back issues, we are now selling 15 old copies for $20 delivered, in Canada. Legalization is around the corner, and our older issues have been documenting cannabis history for years. They are full of interesting and inspiring stories (Gayle, Ted and friends at Cobble Herb Retreat) of the people and organizations fighting for freedom. Get yours are many questions remaining. sponsors, and a special thanks go before they are all gone. For now, though, staff and mem- out to Crop King Seeds, Sacred bers can breath a big sigh of relief Herb, Beard Bros.,Jupiter and BC Finally, if you are on-line, please as the fear of police raids has di- Smoke Shop. check out our blogs, as we pubminished substantially. lish several blogs a week to keep Of course the big, huge event this you up-to-date. Last year we had This year the April 420 celebra- year for us will be the 20th anni- over 500,000 visits to our site and tions in Victoria, and across Can- versary of Hempology 101 in Vic- this year we expect even more, as ada, went without any major inci- toria, which will be celebrated on our team of writers is constantly dents. There were close to 2,000 Wednesday Sept 2. We will start changing to give new perspectives at city hall and the local media re- smoking cannabis about 7 pm on the fight to liberate cannabis. ports were decent, with no close- in Centennial Square before we Hope everyone has a wicked sumups of teenagers on camera. There march to the legislature for some mer. was a great deal of excitement in group pictures. With so many histhe air, as everyone can feel the toric developments in the scene, cracks in prohibition turning into this will be a grand occasion for pathways. those who have come to Hempology 101 events over the years and On Canada Day we had an awe- newcomers alike. some game of the world’s only gameshow, REACH FOR THE POT, on the front steps of the Victoria courthouse. It has been a tradition for a few years to hotbox the front steps of the courthouse on Cannabis day at 4:20pm and again in the evening of Halloweed. The teams were full of all-star cannabis activists and the video is available on-line.
Over time the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club has been introducing a number of new extracts. The club has always been a leader in providing alternatives to smoking cannabis and this court case has only brought more attention to the group’s efforts. It takes a long time for new members to get to know everything available to them, but the staff is always happy to take the time to explain how to Our next big event is our first use everything. ever annual Team 420 DodgeEveryone is very happy to hear ball Tournament on Sat Aug 8.
Issue Number 45
www.CannabisDigest.ca
Quebec Doctor Clampdown
23
Breakdown of the CMQ Medical Cannabis Guidelines times see over 40 doctors before they could find someone who would prescribe. The courts also found (in a case called Parker) that the MMAR regulations were much too restrictive. In fact, on the Health Canada web site, they state quite clearly that they are only doing this because the court required it. In order to achieve this objective, the older MMAR Jerry Golick was replaced by the MMPR. Under these new guidelines, any physician in Canada is authorized Introduction to prescribe cannabis (though Health Canada refuses to call it he recently published guide- a “prescription” since that would lines by the Collège des médecins du Quebec (CMQ) with respect to prescribing medical cannabis contravene both the spirit and intent of the current Health Canada regulations. After dithering for over a year on their creation, these “Research Protocols” make it more challenging than ever for a patient in Quebec to get a prescription, and to maintain it.
T
Given the well-understood and accepted safety profile of cannabis, especially when compared to virtually all other prescription medications, the tremendous amount of anecdotal and research evidence that is available, and the constitutional rights granted by the courts to all Canadians to have access to this therapy, the CMQ’s position can only be seen as indefensible, ineffective, and perhaps immoral. The intent of this brief paper is to provide background to this situation, and introduce a call to action for all interested parties. History
over a year to prepare its position on medical cannabis, it essentially did nothing until the official date the new regulations came into place in April 2014. Rather than agree to conform to Health Canada’s regulations, they chose instead to effectively halt all prescriptions in Quebec, using the following reasoning:
2) It is therefore an experimental therapy: Given the amount of evidence, cannabis can hardly be considered experimental. It is not a new drug. It has been used as medicine for over 5000 years, and we have the documented history to prove it. In fact, millions of people around the world use it every day. The US Drug Enforcement Agency estimates that up1) There is no evidence for the use ward of 25 million tons of mariof cannabis as a medicine. juana is consumed just in America every year, which works out to 2) It is therefore an experimental something like 2 million joints therapy. every day. And this has been going on for decades. In addition, there are over 18,000 research papers that have been published on cannabis just in the last 15 years. The effects are well known. This is not the characteristic of an experimental therapy.
imply that cannabis is a medicine) 3) Experimental therapies can by providing 4 pieces of informa- only be prescribed under the umtion: brella of a “Research Project”. 4) New protocols would have to be 1) Name of the doctor created for this project and would 2) Name of the patient be ready by June 2014. 3) Daily amount prescribed (in grams) 5) Until then, even those with pre4) Duration of the prescription scriptions (from the older MMAR program) were technically not alThat’s it, and that’s all. No need lowed to be prescribed by Quebec to indicate the condition being physicians. treated, what other doctors were consulted, what other medications Let me take these one at a time. were tried, etc. Just 4 basic pieces of information (like any prescrip- 1) There is no evidence for the use tion). of cannabis as a medicine: In fact, there is a mountain of evidence Medical associations and colleges supporting the use of cannabis as had over a year to prepare for these a medical therapy. There are even new regulations, yet virtually none quite of few of the “gold standard” of them did anything about it un- Phase 3 trials (more on this later). til the MMPR came into effect Even Health Canada, who hasn’t in April 2014. When they finally “approved” of medical cannabis, did, their protocols were much has posted a lengthy document on more stringent and complex than the current evidence. those required by Health Canada. In my opinion, the CMQ’s guidelines are the most challenging and onerous of all.
Numerous legal challenges have made one point clear when it comes to medical cannabis: Canadians have a constitutional right to use it with a medical prescription if they so desire, and Health Canada must facilitate that access. Both the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) and Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) were created because of court order to The CMQ Position facilitate access to cannabis, since potential patients had to some- Even though the CMQ had well
j
3) Experimental therapies can only be prescribed under the umbrella of a “Research Project”: I am all in favour of doing research, and collecting appropriate data about on medical cannabis, not because it is experimental, but rather because it would provide valuable information on how and why people are using it. In that sense, I agree with the CMQ. However, when participation in this project (and all of its heavy handed hoops which must be jumped through) is the only way that a citizen of Quebec can access, then I say something is quite wrong. What is involved? Consider the following: Frustrated-Doc (1)a) Only doctors who are classified as “Investigators” can prescribe. To become an investigator, the doctor must take a training course. These courses will not be accredited (towards their professional continuing medical education), and they will be time consuming. What doctor will be interested in signing up for such a thing? In fact, the current waiting list to see some doctors in
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Quebec about cannabis is over 2 years! These regulations will do little to improve the situation.
My point being that if there was a problem, under any situation, we would know about it by now. This may seem difficult to accept to anyone who has not done any b) Patients must agree in writing reading on the subject, but conto being part of the research proj- sider alcohol as an example. It ect, sign waivers of liability, etc. didn’t take the human race long Far in excess of what is required by Health Canada. If any patient chooses to “opt out” they will not receive any cannabis. c) The multi page forms must be filled out BY HAND not only during the initial interview, but on every follow up interview. Considering that prescribing cannabis is not covered by RAMQ (i.e. Medicare) what doctor will be willing to spend an hour with a patient filling in these forms? Further, in this modern day and age the need to manually fill in forms is nothing short of ludicrous.
TER a drug has been approved and made generally available attempt to determine if the reality of the efficacy of the drug in the real world matches what came out of the phase 3 trial. Since cannabis is already in general use by the population as a whole, (with or
“The CMQ Regulations will be ineffective because today anyone in Quebec can get a prescription relatively easily”
The regulations are immoral, because patients in Quebec who are suffering with conditions which might be treated with this remarkably safe product are being denied access by these onerous rules, while at the same time citizens in other provinces find it easier to get a prescription.
d) There is no public documentation available as to how this data will be used, by whom, how it will be secured, etc. 4) New protocols would have to be created for this project and would be ready by June 2014: The protocols which were supposed to be available in June 2014, were delayed 3 times and were only announced in April 2015. I should note at this point my deep appreciation to Dr. Mark Ware, as well as certain Licensed Producers (Bedrocan, Tweed, Mettrum) for their tremendous effort and support in the creation of these regulations. Without their help, I imagine we would have to wait another year at least, if not more.
to figure out that there were many significant problems with the over-consumption of alcohol, and no phase 3 trials were required. Simple observation and common sense showed us the dangers. On the other hand, populations in places like India, Jamaica, North Africa have been using cannabis (for medical, recreational, and religious reasons) for centuries, and no such problems have been evident. In time, medical science finally got around to showing why alcohol was so dangerous, but that only validated what we already Phase 3 Trials knew (same with tobacco). Meanwhile, no one has ever died from Clinical-Trials-of-CannabisThe a cannabis overdose, ever, many foundation for the claim of lack people claim medical benefits, and of evidence centers on something a great deal of the current research called Phase 3 Trials. These tri- supports its use. Therefore, why do als are part of the process which we need these phase 3 trials? must be followed by a pharmaceutical company when they want 3) Phase 3 trials attempt to conto bring a new drug to market. It trol all variables so they can evaluis true that over the last 20 years ate the efficacy of the product. there are have been less than 2 They tend to be very precise. IOW dozen of these trials using smoked – this drug, for this condition, at cannabis. They are very costly to this time, with these other mediperform, and cannabis can’t be cations only, and never with those. patented (it’s a plant). Therefore, All well and good for new drugs there was little motivation on the with which we have no experience. part of any drug company to per- However, as shown above, when it form these trials. comes to cannabis, we have tens of thousands of people, with hunHowever, I disagree with the need dreds of conditions, who currently for these trials. My reasoning is as use cannabis as part of their treatfollows: ment options (though frequently without their doctor’s knowledge). 1) Cannabis is neither new, nor is This certainly doesn’t fit the model it a pharmaceutical. It is a natural for a Phase 3 trial. product that has been used by the human race for thousands of years I would suggest that given the as a medicine. wide spread significant use of cannabis on a global level, that what2) Millions of people are using ever condition or variable they cannabis every day around the would like to examine, researchers world. Some of these people are could already find a huge popuon prescription medications, some lation sample, if they would only mix it with recreational intoxi- search for it. In the medical world, cants (like alcohol), others use it this is called Phase 4 trials. at work, and many use it to selftreat a wide range of conditions. Phase 4 trials, which happen AF-
The CMQ Regulations will be ineffective because today anyone in Quebec can get a prescription relatively easily via Skype or other online resources which will put them in touch with doctors outside of Quebec who are quite willing to prescribe (for a fee). This normally wouldn’t be possible, but since cannabis is not considered a “medicine” and since the authorization to use it is not called a prescription, it opens the door to some very creative ways for people to gain access. All the CMQ has done has made sure that the amount of data its research project collects will be much less than it could have been.
without doctor’s prescription) any study would be defacto phase 4. Conclusions In my view, based on the foregoing, the CMQ position is indefensible, ineffective, and immoral. It is indefensible because of the huge amount of evidence available which supports its use. There is no way to justify calling cannabis an “experimental” therapy when doctors around the world are prescribing cannabis for everything from childhood epilepsy to military veterans suffering PTSD, to all sorts of chronic pain management. In the US over 20 states have medical cannabis programs, as do many countries in Europe, not to mention its well established use in Israel. Even the US Government has granted itself a patent on the use of cannabinoid compounds for the treatment of many conditions.
The credo of doctors is supposed to be “first, do no harm”. How can they justify telling a patient that they cannot prescribe a treatment which the patient already knows to be beneficial ? All the patient is asking for is to legalize something they are already doing. And make no mistake, people are not waiting for their doctor to prescribe. Anyone in Canada can get cannabis delivered to their door at any hour of the day or night. All the CMQ has done is marginalize themselves, proving to their patients that their credo is not “first, do not harm” but “first, cover your ass”. I recently read that there will probably be a court challenge in British Columbia against the regulations recently published by their medical college, and much for the same reasons. I think it is time that someone in Quebec take the CMQ to court, require them to justify their position, and settle the matter.
Issue Number 45
www.CannabisDigest.ca
Cannabis Digest • Summer 2015
Dispensing Licenses Good, Bad and Ugly Bylaws Try To Control Surge In Clubs existed before.
Ted Smith ews that Vancouver and N Victoria city councils are ready to license cannabis dispen-
saries has created a huge stir, as it defies federal law and places several unreasonable restrictions on medical providers. With each city witnessing a surge in storefront cannabis establishments, and with the police reluctant to waste resources busting clubs when there is little chance of conviction or serious punishment, it seemed something had to be done. While there are several problems with these regulations, from my perspective, there can be no doubt this unfolding situation will change the medical industry in many ways. While the city cannot regulate cannabis itself, something only the federal government has the authority to do, by using the business licensing bylaws municipal governments can exert some pressure on dispensaries to comply with certain regulations. For patients and staff working at the growing number of clubs in these cities, a huge sigh of relief swept through the air as the fear of police raids diminished, at least somewhat. Across the country other dispensaries welcomed this move, with some people looking to use the regulations to start dispensaries in places where none
Storefronts and dispensaries do not operate within a ‘grey zone,’ Despite warnings from federal and the law is clear: they are ilMinister responsible for Health legal.” Canada, Rona Ambrose, and the Conservative government, both Whatever the reasons, for close mayors appear ready to stand to 100 storefront cannabis optheir ground. In a written state- erations in Vancouver and 20 ment to the City of Vancouver, in Victoria, it is undeniable the Ambrose appears outraged, “I am tide has turned in these cities. In deeply concerned by reports that both cities police departments the City of Vancouver intends to have acknowledged they have discuss a proposal to regulate il- more serious crimes to deal with, legal drug dispensaries at an up- crimes with victims and a public coming council meeting...Legiti- interest in prosecution. While mizing and normalizing the use ‘mail order only’ seems acceptable
(Artist rendition of the V-CBC Storefront) and sale of marijuana can have to the federal government, it does only one effect: increasing mari- not seem acceptable to the public. juana use and addiction.” “We can’t do nothing. It’s a regMayor Gregor Robertson has ulatory quagmire,”proclaimed stated the new federal medical Victoria mayor Lisa Helps in an cannabis regulations brought into interview with the Globe and effect over a year ago have created Mail. “Medical marijuana is lethe situation that lead to the pro- gal. The federal government has liferation of dispensaries. Am- made that clear. Producing maribrose strongly disagrees. “These juana for medical purposes is also regulations are clear and do not legal. The main step is how to provide municipalities with the get that into people’s hands,” she authority to legitimize the com- said. mercial sale of marijuana, which remains an illegal substance. When asked if cities could simply shut the clubs down instead,
mayor Helps was clear that dispensaries will not be closed. “We have no jurisdiction to do that and people do need access, but it needs to be done the way Vancouver is approaching it, in a regulatory regime, not just ad hoc as it is right now,” she said. While a couple of places in BC have issued a business license to a dispensary, in Kelowna and Kimberley, this is certainly the first time in Canadian history that a city has created bylaws for an illegal business. However, there are many details in the regulations which could cause serious headaches for the oldest dispensaries, force many new ones to close or move, and will dramatically reduce the number of edible cannabis products. One of the biggest criticisms is the fact that all of the cannabis sold comes from unlicensed suppliers, instead of the Licensed Producers, many of whom would prefer to own their own dispensaries. No doubt the most troublesome issue with the new regulations is the requirement that dispensaries be farther than 300 meters from each other and the same distance from community centers and schools. This will negatively affect many of the oldest medical cannabis dispensaries in Vancouver, including the oldest the BC Compassion Club, and the one opened by veteran activist Dana Larsen, the Medical Cannabis Dispensary. There may be hope that exceptions can be made by the city for these long-standing organizations, but at press time that has not happened. By forcing storefronts to be 300 meters apart, the city will be attempting to shut down some clubs in areas where they are already much thicker than that, costing taxpayers huge amounts
Issue Number 45 of police and court time. While some new clubs are trying to make sure they have a safe distance from others, many existing clubs will be forced to compete with each other for the good favour of the city officials that will be deciding who stays and who goes. This is an unnerving situation for everyone, as new and old clubs alike fear they could get shut out of the system through no fault of their own. To make matters worse, the city has decided to charge an extraordinary $30,000 for each business license, plus other annual fees, except for those groups that can prove they are non-profit societies that provide alternative medical services and full transparency. This is dramatically higher than any other business license fees, with an escort service paying around $1.300 and the PNE around $16,000. The city justifies this huge fee by stating that staff will be spending a great deal of time working with these clubs. and therefore they need to recover the costs. However, it has also been acknowledged that some of the money from these extraordinary fees will be used to pay police and city staff to shut down and possibly arrest members of organizations unable or unwilling to comply with the new bylaws.
www.CannabisDigest.ca Of course, it is patients. not the companies, who ultimately pay these extraordinary prices, so the city is really just squeezing money out of members, just to give the public the impression they are seriously trying to distinguish between clubs providing a fullservice medical organization and others that appear focused on sales. In fact, it appears the police and city in both cities do not really care how great the medical needs are of potential members, as there is a growing awareness of the wide range of benefits the plant has compared to the few potential minor negatives impacts. While the surge in profit-motivated cannabis storefronts, with their bold advertising, signs and locations, has made traditional compassion clubs uncomfortable, there is no doubt that this wave of people and organizations has tipped the balance towards regulations and more integration into the healthcare community. Another very controversial component of these bylaws is the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s move to take the vast majority of the edible cannabis products currently sold at dispensaries off the shelf, limiting sales to oils, tinctures and other extractions. It is clear that Vancouver Coastal Health has been pressuring the city to eliminate any products that could appear attractive to children, insisting
any edible cannabis products to be consistent and free from other non-medical materials. While the recent Owen Smith decision at the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the laws prohibiting cannabis extractions, there is no such protection for the cookies he was caught making.
27
stakeholders through this process. Formed just a few years ago to help compassion clubs work together and create standards for the industry, CAMCD has been at the forefront of this licensing process. Lead by Jamie Shaw from the BC Compassion Club Society, there have been several meetings Brownies, suckers, caramel pop- held among dispensaries in both corn, smoothies and many of the cities to collaborate as much as other wonderful treats currently possible. available are perfectly suited for the recreational market, but it is Many other mayors and counhard to make the case for these cils are considering these bylaws, products when dealing with pa- either as a means of regulattients. It is easy for many people ing existing clubs or controlling to make their own cannabis-in- any future ones. So far the BC fused foods after purchasing the provincial government appears extraction at a storefront, if that unlikely to jump into the fray, is what they desire. For people though they often side with the dealing with serious medical is- federal Conservatives on matters sues products like cannabis oils of energy development and resqueezed into veggie caps are the source extraction. A process has most appropriate. It is difficult been set into motion that cannot for even the most skilled cook to stop now, though, as more pamake products with a perfectly tients and caregivers create cenconsistent dose. Moreover, the ters full of high-quality medical medical community is not ac- cannabis products. customed to providing cookies to patients, it is hard to stop people The leadership being shown by from eating more than they need the city councils of Vancouver when it tastes so good, and the and Victoria is truly paving the amount of sugar in most products way towards a future where all being sold is definitely a concern. levels of government are working together on this issue. It will be Written into the bylaws, the Ca- an exciting day indeed when the nadian Association of Medical Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club Cannabis Dispensaries is keen puts its license on the wall. to work with the city and other
Cannabis Digest â&#x20AC;˘ Summer 2015
Issue Number 45
www.CannabisDigest.ca
29
HEMPOLOGY 101 CROSSWORD GANJA MOVIES
Check out Georgiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website to see some of her other comics, read her blog, and help her spread the good word by picking up a copy of her book of the Happy Hippie comics.
Crossword Answers PineappleExpress,10)KidCannabis,11)EvilBong,12)HalfBaked,13)WaitingtoInhale,14)SquareGrouper,15)Friday,16)Grass 1)SuperHighMe,2)ReeferMadness,3)HowHigh,4)TheUnion,5)CheechandChong,6)Homegrown,7)TheCultureHigh,8)CitizenMarc,9)
Cannabis Digest • Summer 2015
CANNABIS CLUBS ACROSS CANADA
Cannabis dispensaries in Canada, due to a lack of regulation, all operate under unique and individual mandates. As such, the membership requirements of each dispensary differ. We recommend travelling with a copy of your original proof of condition (doctor’s note) which the VCBC staff will be happy to provide to its’ members. It is also recommended to research the dispensaries in the region you will be visiting and try to establish contact, if possible, before your visit. Please be discreet and polite when contacting another dispensary—you are representing the VCBC too! Keep in mind: Some dispensaries have problems with supply and accessibility. The VCBC cannot guarantee that another dispensary will have supply or accept your card as proof of condition. Please help grow this network and support your local clubs by encouraging quality gardeners to direct their product to local dispensaries, or by growing yourself.
British Columbia VICTORIA CANNABIS BUYERS’ CLUB (VCBC) 826 Johnson St., Victoria Tel: 250-381-4220 Email: hempo101@gmail.com www.v-cbc.ca NORTH ISLAND COMPASSION CLUB Tel:250-871-5207
PHOENIX PAIN MANAGEMENT SOCIETY 321 Wallace St, Nanaimo 778-441-2661 MED POT NOW SOCIETY 4170 Fraser St. , Vancouver Tel: (604) 569-2119 www.medpotnow.com
OCEAN GROWN MEDICINAL SOCIETY 1725 Cook St Unit 1, Victoria Tel: 778-265-1009
THE HEALING TREE 529 East Hastings St., Vancouver Tel: 604-569-1091 www.hdcvan.ca
VANCOUVER ISLAND COMPASSION SOCIETY 853 Cormorant St., Victoria Tel:250-381-8427 Fax: 250-381-8423
REDMED 231 Abbott St., Vancouver Tel: 604-559-9444
NANAIMO MEDICAL CARE CLUB 14 Lois Lane, Nanaimo Tel: (778) 441-0141 nanaimomedicalcareclub.com
CANNA CLINIC 758 East Broadway, Vancouver Tel: 604-558-2454
BC COMPASSION CLUB SOCIETY 2995 Commercial Drive, Vancouver Tel:604-875-0448 Fax: 604-875-6083 website: www.thecompassionclub.org GREEN CROSS SOCIETY OF B.C. 2127 Kingsway, Vancouver Tel: 778-785-0370 Fax:778-785-0477 www.greencrossofbc.org VANCOUVER MEDICINAL CANNABIS DISPENSARY 880 East Hastings St. Tel: 604-255-1844 Fax: 604-255-1845 West End location: 1182 Thurlow St. www.cannabisdispensary.ca YALETOWN MEDICAL DISPENSARY 1281 Howe St., Vancouver TEL: (604) 566-9051 FAX: (604) 558-2879 www.yaletownmedicaldispensary.com VAN CITY MEDICINAL SOCIETY 1594 Kingsway, Vancouver Tel: (604) 875-0002 Email: vcmsofficial@gmail.com T.A.G.G.S 11696 - 224th St., Maple Ridge, BC Tel: 604-477-0557 Fax: 604-477-0575 Email: taggs420@live.com
PACIFIC CANNAMED SOCIETY 1259 Kingsway, Vancouver Tel: 604-558-3225 8546 Granville St., Tel: 604-563-3250 SUNRISE MEDICAL FOUNDATION 258 W Broadway 604-877-0211 www.mysunrise.ca THE GREEN RHINO 2570 Granville 1-888-661-5557 www.thegreenrhino.ca NELSON COMPASSION CLUB #203-602 Josephine St. Nelsom, BC Tel: 250-354-4206 Email: nelsoncompassion@yahoo.ca BE KIND OKANAGAN GROWERS AND COMPASSION CLUB. 288 Hwy. #33 West Rutland, BC (Kelowna) Tel: 778-753-5959 Fax: 778-753-5755 Vernon Location: www.okanagancompassionclub.com WESTCOAST MEDICANN 2931 Cambie St., Vancouver, BC. Tel: 604-558-2266 www.westcoastmedicann.com PAIN MANAGEMNT SOCIETY 2137 Commercial Drive. Vancouver Tel: 604-215-4551 Fax: 1-888-684-6906 www.painmanagementsociety.org
EDEN MEDICINAL SOCIETY 161 E. PENDER, Vancouver Tel: 604-568-9337 637 E. HASTINGS, Vancouver Tel: 604-568-9337 www.myeden.ca GRASSROOTS BOTANICALS WELLNESS COOPERATIVE 4730 Willingdon ave, Powell River Tel: 604-485-6636 Fax: 604-485-2458 www.grassrootscannabisdispensary.com KOOTENAYS MEDICINE TREE #4 1948 68 Avenue, Grand Forks 250-442-8248
www.kootenaysmedicinetree.ca Alberta M.A.C.R.O.S. 4121-118 Avenue NW, Edmonton, Alberta Tel: 780-457-6824 Website: www.macros.ca
Ontario C.A.L.M. Toronto, Ontario Tel: 416-367-3459 Fax: 416-367-4679 Website: www.cannabisclub.ca TORONTO COMPASSION CENTRE Tel: 416-668-6337 Fax: 416-461-7116 www.torontocompassioncentre.org RAINBOW MEDICAL CANNABIS CANADA Toronto, Ontario Tel: 416-927-8639 www.rainbowmedicinalcannabis.ca MEDICAL COMPASSION CLINIC 66 Wellesley St E 2nd Fl, Toronto Ontario Tel: 647-291-0420 www.medicalcompassionclinic.com
Maritimes THCC—FARM ASSISTS Tel: (902) 495-0420 http://thccsociety.wix.com/home *To add your club to this list, please contact: editor@cannabisdigest.ca
Issue Number 45
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