Editorial:

Brian Taylor Editor

Will we finally change these archaic and ineffective Canadian marijuana laws, or will attention again be diverted from marijuana by a new war? Will the Commons listen to the Senate report, or will the house be swayed by Stephan Harper, who would rather his children drink alcohol.

I was one of those long-hairs from the 70’s that left the activist community, got a job, had kids and was surprised when I woke up at the carnage and damage that prohibition has caused over the last 30 years.

In this issue we applaud the so often maligned legal profession, which has mounted multiple legal challenges and has placed the law makers on notice. I sense from all but a few in the cannabis community a sigh of relief that the battle is won, the war is over. True, more people are looking at addictions as health problems, but the darker days are behind (the ones our grandchildren will see as barbaric) and we are beginning to treat addicts with more dignity and yes, maybe marijuana will be legal to grow at home.

Decriminalization or legalization will bring new challenges, old problems will remain and counter-moves by zealous prohibitionists will happen. Pressure from the U.S. could still derail or severely delay any progress.
Let us not make the same mistake we made in the 70’s, we owe it to our children to remain diligent.
I was pleased to receive permission from the only Canadian cannabis medical access group to print their petition and the response from Health Canada. Seeing Health Canada’s blatant disregard for the highest court in the land and the frightening bureaucratic logic in turning down the involvement of the patients in the process in hard copy is priceless!

Unfortunately, the attitude that underlies this action by Health Canada is the same ethic that will never allow them to forgive those of us who have broken the rules. Although we would all benefit if Health Canada would utilize the existing network of clubs and organizations, like the fallen sinners in a western epic, Health Canada will not include or consult with pot-smoking patients, compassion clubs, cannabis magazines or marijuana activist organizations of any kind.

In the next edition of CH we will address the economics of cannabis, what prohibition is costing, what decriminalization could do to local economies, and what new cannabis opportunities could return to investors with vision.

In preparing for the coming issue on economics, I was struck by the crushing poverty of so many chronically ill Canadians. I met medical users that choose pot over food, because, “Hey man, who wants to eat, when you are sick and in pain?”

James Wakeford, an early soldier in the battle for access to cannabis has been bankrupted by legal cost, police harassment and other cost (see page 11). With medical plans getting more restrictive and drug costs going up patients are using proceeds from excess marijuana that they sell to friends to support the increasing cost of their traditional prescription drugs.
Put that in your health care budget.
Brian Taylor

L e t t e r s
So I am now legal!
Today the courier came with my new exemption paperwork and my picture ID card, so I am now “legal” until January 22, 2004. I also now have a designated grower for the first time and am hoping the terrible financial burden will ease off, once the crop comes in.

I’d like to thank everyone who wrote me with their support and encouragement, I truly needed that!
Please keep fighting for our right to determine our own medical treatment. Seems to me it is the “informed consent” with our doctor that is the issue. Every patient who has surgery, for example, signs an ‘Informed Consent’ form, stating that they know there are risks, they’ve talked it over with their doctor, and they are aware there could be adverse consequences or side effects to their procedure. If Health Canada would change that one criteria for medicinal pot, just think of the millions we tax payers could save and redirect towards actual health care instead of bureaucracy. It took five phone calls with my specialist, after my Nov 1st. appointment, to get the forms completed to Health Canada’s standards. No wonder the doctors are reluctant to get involved. Anyway, just my thoughts.
Yours in good health,
Lindy

No “tomatoes” for you!
After reading this article (Welcome to the tomato game, page 8, Issue #2 of CH) I can only wonder in amazement at what the people at the Hydroponic Expo were smoking? At every Hydroponic store I visit I announce that I am growing medical marijuana and that I am a legal grower with an exemption from Health Canada and promptly ask if they give discounts to med users.

Most shops will give a discount if you show them your exemption or a membership card to a local compassion club, depending on how much you spend. What I have found is that the owners of those stores are quite happy to have a legal grower as a customer, because it allows them to be more open about the... ahem... “tomato growing equipment”.

Those companies that are upset by people talking shop (marijuana) won’t see any of my hard cash (and they miss out on free samples at harvest time).
Michael ‘Mik” Mann

Cannabis in time
1893-94: British Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report.

1914: El Paso Texas bans Marijuana.

1923: Marijuana was first banned in Canada under the Opium and Drug Act.

1937: (prior) At least 27 medicines containing marijuana were legally available in the U.S.. Many were made by well-known pharmaceutical firms that still exist today, such as Squibb (now Bristol-Myers Squibb) and Eli Lilly. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 federally prohibited marijuana. Dr. William C. Woodward of the American Medical Association opposed the Act, testifying that prohibition would ultimately prevent the medicinal uses of marijuana.

1944: Mayor La Guardia’s report on The Marihuana Problem in The City of New York.

1954: New laws were passed in which a person could be charged for possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, with a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment. The sentence was doubled the following year to 14 years.

1961: The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The act increased the minimum penalty for cultivation to 7 years, and the minimum for importation and exportation to 14 years. This made the marijuana laws carry the second heaviest minimum sentence in Canadian criminal law, surpassed only by that imposed for capital and non-capital murder.

1967: The UK urges legalization of cannabis. The Beatles sign it. 3,000 people hold a ‘smoke-in’ in Hyde Park. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones are arrested and imprisoned for cannabis. This prompts a Times editorial ‘Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?’. The convictions are quashed on appeal. In the UK 2,393 persons are arrested for cannabis offences. In the USA over 3,000 joints get mailed to addresses at random by Abbie Hoffman and the Yippies.

1970: Le Dain Report (Canada) recommended that serious consideration be given to the legalization of personal possession of marijuana. It finds that cannabis use increases self-confidence, feelings of creativity and sensual awareness, facilitates concentration and self-acceptance, reduces tension, hostility and aggression and may produce psychological but not physical dependence. The report recommends that possession laws be repealed. This report cost Canada 4 Million Dollars and was completely ignored by the government.

1983: The USA government (Reagan/Bush) orders american universities to destroy all 1966-76 research work on cannabis.

1988: In the USA - a clear violation of rights to free speech - laws were passed prohibiting the right to explain how drugs are produced, advocate use of drugs or hemp, and even promoting legalization of drugs was outlawed. The penalties were $100,000 for the first offence and $300,000 for the second, with six months to a year’s incarceration.

1992 (April): NORML Canada (National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws) was charged with distribution of pro-legalization pamphlets of marijuana, but charges were dropped two months later.
Cannabis in time

1992: U.S. President Clinton admits he smoked cannabis, but did not inhale. Howard Marks admits that he smoked cannabis, but never exhaled.

1994 (Oct.): NORML filed a complaint with regards to suppression of free speech, and the Ontario Court of Justice agreed with the complaint. The prohibition of literature was overturned.

1997: Marijuana covered by the new Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

1997: (Jan.): A court in Texas, USA, sentences medical marijuana user William J. Foster to 93 years imprisonment for cultivation of one plant.

1998: Italy decriminalizes possession of drugs and permits small-scale cultivation of cannabis for own use.

1998 (June): The UK Government has granted a license to grow and possess cannabis for the purposes of medical trials, to Dr Geoffrey Guy of GW Pharmaceuticals. The crop, grown at a secret location in southeast England, is guarded by electrified razor-wire fences, security cameras and guard dogs.

1999 (March): The National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded “there are some limited circumstances in which we recommend smoking marijuana for medical uses.”

1999 (April): Switzerland legalizing Cannabis.

1999 (June): The Canadian Federal government has given permission for the cultivation and use of marijuana for medical purposes.

2000: The Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs announces that over 30,000 Canadians were charged with simple possession of marijuana.
2000 (Jan.): In Ottawa Health Canada has given Robert Brown the OK to smoke marijuana after the victim of hepatitis C spent two days camping in the rain on Parliament Hill protesting for the right to do so.

2000 (May): Over 90% of Canadians support decriminalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, according to a National Post poll.

2000 (July): The judgment in R. vs Parker declares the prohibition on the possession of marijuana in the Act “to be of no force and effect”, but suspends that declaration for a year to give Parliament time to amend the federal legislation to comply with the Charter.

2000 (Oct.): UK reports that cannabis is less harmful than Aspirin.

2001 (Jan.): Canada firm grows medical pot in mine shaft. Federal government is paying Prairie Plant Systems almost $6 million to grow marijuan.a

2001 (July): Canadian Federal government regulations on the possession and production of medical marijuana for personal use went into effect. They are an attempt to provide some relief to those suffering from debilitating diseases and those who are terminally ill.

2002 (May): As the Flin Flon experiment proves to be a flop, federal officials have no one to blame but themselves. The people at Prairie Plant Systems have NO experience in growing cannabis.
Cannabis in time

2002 (May): 9 Canadians in Kitchener, Ont., who are allowed to smoke marijuana for medical reasons plan to launch a civil lawsuit this week against the federal government in an effort to ease access to pot.

2002 (July): B.C. Provincial Court Judge Higinbotham granted an absolute discharge to Philippe Lucas, Director of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society from charges stemming from his involvement with the VICS. This precedent-setting case opens the doors to fully recognized legal medical marijuana distribution for compassion clubs across Canada.

2002 (Sept.): The Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs reviewes Canada’s current anti-drug policies and legislation and says that marijuana is not a gateway drug and should be treated more like tobacco or alcohol rather than like harder drugs.

2002 (Nov.): Steve & Michele Kubby – At the request of Crown Counsel Don Fairweather, all charges against the Kubbys were dropped and Judge Dan Noon also ordered the return of all growing equipment and medicine.

2002 (Dec.): A 13-year-old boy from Constable Neil Bruce Middle School died by suicide after being suspended from school for smoking marijuana. Six weeks later, 15-year-old Jason Ricciuti, a promising minor hockey goalie who attended Rutland senior secondary, also took his own life during a road trip to the Lower Mainland, after being caught smoking marijuana.

2002 (Dec.): The House of Commons Special Committee on Non-Medical Use of Drugs looked at an overall drug strategy for Canada and issued their report. The committee said that while marijuana is unhealthy, the current criminal penalties for possession and use of small amounts of cannabis are disproportionately harsh. They recommended that the Canadian Ministers of Justice and of Health come up with a strategy to decriminalize the possession and cultivation of not more than 30 g (about an ounce) of cannabis for personal use.

2002 (Dec.): The charges against Marc St-Maurice and Alexandre Neron, two members of the Compassion Club, have been thrown out. The Compassion Club says it aims to provide marijuana for medicinal purposes. The idea is to make pot available to AIDS sufferers and those with chronic illnesses.
Cannabis in time

2002 (Dec.): Quebec court Judge Gilles Cadieux says Canada’s marijuana laws unfairly infringe upon the constitutional rights of patient with serious medical conditions. Cadieux says he doesn’t have the authority to declare the laws unconstitutional. As a result, he has dismissed charges of possession and trafficking in marijuana.

2003 (Jan.): In Ontario, a judge threw out a charge against a teenager after ruling that there effectively exists no prohibition against the possession of marijuana. Justice Douglas Phillips noted that in July 2000 the Ontario Court of Appeal found invalid prohibitions against possession of marijuana contained in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

2003 (Jan.): A newly released document shows that Cindy Cripps-Prawak has been fighting a proposed policy shift that would deliver government-certified marijuana to chronically ill Canadians. Currently, Health Canada will provide its standardized marijuana only to accredited researchers, who would then dispense it to select patients in clinical trials. Patients not enrolled in such trials can seek federal authorization to possess marijuana to alleviate symptoms - but they have to get the stuff on their own from the street. They can also grow it from seeds or have someone else do it for them.

2003 (Jan.): An eastern Ontario man has won his court battle to toke and drive in what could become a precedent-setting case. Rick Reimer, a former lawyer and marijuana activist who had a joint in his hand when police pulled his car off the road, was acquitted yesterday of driving while impaired by marijuana.

2003 (Jan.): Supreme Court Judge Linda Loo ordered police to return Brian Carlisle’s 51 marijuana plants and all other items seized in a raid in Hope in July 2001. She further ordered the second monetary part of Carlisle’s damages for $90,000.

2003 (Jan.): Justice John Moore threw out marijuana possession charges against Martin Barnes - ruling that there is no law prohibiting the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

2003 (Jan.): “Canada rules, that’s for sure,” Warren Hitzig, an applicant in the constitutional challenge, said. “The judge said it’s unconstitutional for medical users to use the unconventional measures they had to use,” said Hitzig, a founder of the Toronto Compassion Centre, which sold medicinal pot to about 1,500 terminally ill people until it was raided last year. “We’re very gratified by the decision,” lawyer Joseph Neuberger (one of four lawyers who successfully argued before Justice Sidney Lederman) said. “It addresses the concerns that we highlighted and puts real pressure on the government to now put into place a regime that does provide them with access to and (a) safe supply of medicinal marijuana. If they don’t comply, then possession is lawful and they’re no longer subject to criminal law.”

2003 (Jan.): - Pot possession law challenged in Summerside Court - Further cases to be adjourned until judge makes ruling. The validity of the law that prohibits the simple possession of marijuana has been challenged in a P.E.I. Provincial Court.

2003 (Jan.): - TORONTO - The federal Justice Department will prosecute two employees of the Toronto Compassion Centre, despite a recent court ruling that such clubs may be a good way to distribute marijuana to people with medical exemptions. A preliminary hearing for Warren Hitzig and Zack Naftolin was set for July 14, after a brief court appearance in Toronto. Hitzig and Naftolin both face six trafficking-related charges because of their involvement in the centre, which provided medical marijuana for five years before a police raid last summer.

Sources:
http://www.cannabisnews.com/
http://www.mpp.org/index.html
http://www.johnconroy.com/
http://civilliberty.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mpp.org%2Fmedicine.html
http://www.ccguide.org.uk/chronol.html

Canadas Cannabis Lawyers
Canada’s marijuana laws have been changing in favour of the popular will of Canadians and through the tireless efforts of a few determined lawyers. Cannabis Health hopes to highlight some of the changes and the people who are making them.

John Conroy - QC

We are all hoping that early in the spring of 2003, John W. Conroy Q.C., along with fellow lawyers Prof. Alan Young and Paul Burstein, not to mention David Malmo-Levine on his own behalf, and supporting ‘Interveners’ from the Canadian and British Columbian Civil Liberties Associations, will enter, once again, through the massive doors of the Supreme Court of Canada to argue that the prohibition of the possession and use, including distribution, of cannabis (marijuana),under the Federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, is for various reasons, unconstitutional. On December 13th, 2002, despite the objections of all counsel, including counsel for the Crown, the Supreme Court Justices felt compelled to adjourn all three appeals to the spring term, to await the outcome of the promise by the Liberal government (arising from Justice Minister Cauchon’s comments in the media) to introduce some form of decriminalization in Canada, through Parliament in the first four months of this new year.

In a letter dated January 13th, 2003 to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, copied to the Registrar of the Court, Mr. Conroy, on behalf of all the appellants, urges the Minister to act quickly, reviews what transpired in the previous month leading up to the adjournment, and re-iterates the submission that similar promises or statements (to change Canadian marijuana laws) have been made by politicians or government representatives in various years in the past from Mr. Trudeau in 1970, Joe Clark in 1979, Jean Chretien in 1980 and 1996, and Keith Martin in 1997 and 2001, to name a few, and yet the law remains essentially the same as it did in the ‘sixties’ when it comes to cannabis prohibition. John Conroy is not cynical when he says this, he has simply been doing this long enough to have seen and heard these many broken promises from our politicians, that he no longer gives them much credibility.

John’s pilgrimage to the Supreme Court of Canada began in 1993, soon after Randy Caine was arrested, and is the first challenge of the marijuana laws under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the first to get leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. He will submit on behalf of the appellants that the current laws pertaining to personal possession and use of marijuana is a violation of the constitutional right to liberty and to the security of one’s person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. It is an attempt to establish the John Stuart Mill ‘harm principle’ as a principle of fundamental justice in Canada and to thereby limit the federal government’s criminal law power over benign conduct.

The Conroy and Company website says a lot about what motivates John. In essence this firm is interested in protecting individuals from the abuse of power by governments at all levels and to ensure that those exercising statutory power do so fairly and within their jurisdiction. Behind his kindly, conservative appearance beats the heart of an activist. Founding member and first Canadian president of NORML Canada, John has selflessly given many hours of his own time helping those large and small caught up in the cannabis and other legal webs.
The cannabis issue is far from the only battleground for John, who belongs to many organizations including Penal Reform International and the International Society for the Reform of the Criminal Law. John chaired a Committee of the Canadian Bar Association (the Committee on Imprisonment and Release) for some 15 years and in that capacity appeared frequently before various Senate and Parliamentary Committee’s on criminal and correctional law issues, including anything put forward by the government on ‘drugs and drug laws’. He has established numerous legal precedents in prison law and other areas. He became involved with the Legal Aid in law school and continued this when he moved back out to the Fraser Valley in the spring of 1973. He ran the first ‘Community Law Office’ in the Province in Abbotsford from 1975 until 1980 and, because the demands on his time from prisoners and their families was such from the surrounding prisons, that he created ‘Prisoners Legal Services’ and ran it from 1980 until 1985 before slowly moving back to private practice, usually because of funding cutbacks. He authored ‘Canadian Prison Law’ in 1980. This book is in the process of being updated and put on the web (see www.canadianprisonlaw.com). He was appointed Queen’s Counsel (made a Q.C.) in 1996. John and a few other lawyers were put up for this honour several years earlier when Bill Vander Zalm was Premier and turned down because of their positions against him and his government. As John says – being turned down by Vander Zalm must have meant we were doing something right – in some ways an even greater accolade.

Born in Montreal, his formative younger days were spent on the continent of Africa, growing up in exotic places like the then Belgian Congo (later Zaire and now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)), Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Nyasaland (now Malawi), and, to some extent, in Europe (his mother is Belgian, having met John’s father at the end of WWII during the liberation of Belgium). His father was born in Montreal, but of Irish parents and consequently John also enjoys Irish citizenship. His father obtained a Degree in Agriculture from McGill after the war and, after a brief period in the Ontario tobacco fields, took the family over to Africa and worked for the ‘colonial service’ as a consultant on the growing of tobacco for the Nyasaland government. John recalls how the Africans used marijuana regularly without apparent problem to his youthful eye. His father would simply uproot a plant if he saw one amongst the tobacco fields or elsewhere. John remembers growing his own tobacco plants with the help of his father when he was about 10 years old.

John went to boarding school under the Jesuits at St.George’s College in then Salisbury (now Harare). At age 16, after completing Form IV under the British school system, John returned to Canada in January 1964 to Vancouver (where the weather promised to be the closest to what he had become accustomed) and completed grade 13 at Abbotsford Senior Secondary. He met the love of his life, Sharie, at Fort Camp student residence at UBC in 1965, obtained a degree in Physical Education (BPE - 1968), while Sharie obtained her Degree in Education (B.Ed). They married in 1969 in New Westminster. John received a Bachelors of laws (LLB) from UBC in 1971.He was called to the Bar in 1972, and after a couple of years downtown, they moved to the ‘farm’ at Mission. John chose to practice law in Abbotsford, and put down some roots in the countryside. His two daughters, Lisa (now 24 and following in her grandfather’s footsteps in Plant Sciences at Guelph) and Ginny (21 and working as John’s computer technician while continuing her studies in that field ).

“I would never have been able to accomplish many of the things I have without the support of my family and particularly Sharie. In fact I couldn’t function without her”, says John. She has stood by him through thick and thin, supporting him, encouraging him, keeping his spirits up and just plain looking after him for now 34 years, while at the same time raising two wonderful daughters and running the farm, feeding them organic vegetables - not to mention getting involved in her own causes and issues.

In the minds of many, John is the reason that West Coast Cannabis activism - both medical and recreational - has been so successful. He may not attend every rally (although he does catch his fair share), but he’s around and available for every pot bust, and is involved in nearly every significant trial. Notables such as Hilary Black, Marc Emery and Philippe Lucas praise both the lawyer and the man, saying “Myself and so many others are free to do what we need to do to make a difference, because we’re safe in the knowledge that if it all goes to hell, we won’t be alone in court. In a movement full of brave and heroic troublemakers, John is our defender; he is a hero to the cannabis movement, and I’m happy and honoured to call him a friend.”

Alan Young

When Young takes on a marijuana case, you can almost feel the prosecution cringe. Widely reputed as Canada’s foremost cannabis lawyer, Young is an early film-school enthusiast, outstanding civil rights lawyer, professor of law at Osgoode Hall, Co-Director of the Innocence Project, author of full-length works for the theatre, and his first published short story appeared in the Christmas 1999, issue of Taddle Creek. He’s a new age male, closet Simpsons fan, and is committed to justice and personal freedom.

His home is situated in the picturesque student apartment area of downtown Toronto, just a few blocks from the university. It is his sanctuary, decorated with wall hangings and Tibetan art, low tables as altars, and it reveals Young as a pragmatist but also a seeker of social and spiritual transformation.

In recent years, Alan has been involved, directly or indirectly, in most of Canada’s landmark marijuana cases. He is one of those rare lawyers who concerns himself more with morality than cash reward. “Anyone who knows me, knows that all you have to do is cry to get free legal work.” Young, who works for victims rights and violence against women and children, states, “I am pretty redneck when it comes to crimes of violence.” Far from prudishness, the outspoken Young believes that the pursuit of pleasure, be it cannabis, sex or gambling, should be legislated and not prohibited. “What intrigued me originally was our society’s interest in prohibiting pleasure-seeking activities on the basis that vice leads to uncontrollable decadent behaviour. My goal as a lawyer is to reverse this trend of over-criminalization, to allow people to construct their own heaven and hell. The conservative mentality has always been that the fall of great civilizations is the result of pleasure-seeking activity, and that the Roman Empire itself imploded because Romans were pleasuring themselves to death. The reality is, the Roman Empire fell apart because of various tribes attacking it, and there has never been, in my opinion, a society that fell apart as a result of pleasure-seeking activity.”

In 1990 Alan was instrumental in challenging Canada’s obscenity laws, as he refers to in his interview (below) about “the revolution of the 90’s”. In 1997, Young challenged parliament’s authority to create laws against harmless activities like smoking or growing pot when he defended Chris Clay, the owner of a hemp and bong store in London, Ontario. Clay had been charged with cultivation and possession after growing clones in the front window of his shop. The judge upheld the law, but established a precedent by finding that marijuana use was indeed relatively harmless. Young went from the Clay case to the Jim Wakeford case in 1998. As a result , the courts forced Parliament to create the Section 56 exemption program in 1999.

Young provided the background materials for the Terry Parker case, which was handled expertly by his colleague, lawyer Aaron Harnett. Parker, a med-pot user who lives with epilepsy, needed med-pot to control his seizures. The Parker case forced the government to revise the med-pot regulations within one year, or cannabis laws would be declared null and void. In July 2001, the government responded by implementing the new Marijuana Medical Access Regulations. In a case that Young describes as his “third kick at the can in 2002”, Young and a cadre of lawyers represented several clients: Leora Shemesh will represent Catherine Devries, Jari Dvorak and Mary-Lynne Chamney. A partner in the law firm where Shemesh works, Joseph Neuberger will represent Deborah Anne Stultz-Giffin and Stephen Van De Kemp; lawyer Paul Burstein will represent Marco Renda, and Alan Young will represent Warren Hitzig. The resulting decision by justice Lederman has given the government another 6 months to make cannabis available to eligible Canadians.

In early April Young will be sharing the Supreme Court arena with his close friend and fellow pugilist John Conroy. He and the team has a litigation strategy and will be considering the impact of the commons’ decision or their failure to act. In a “companion” action, the team will represent the trilogy of Randy Caine, Chris Clay and David Malmo Lavine (representing himself).

Cannabis Health interviews Alan Young:
CH: I understand you have a new book you are working on?

AY: It could be a little early to release information on that at the moment. I could tell you that it is called “Justice Defiled”. It’s vicious, it’s satirical and hopefully it will shake the foundations of the legal profession.

CH: Tell us about your early involvement with Marc Emery.

AY: Oddly enough, the way in which Marc, who had been coined “Prince of Pot”, got into pot, resulted in us loosing a constitutional challenge to the obscenity provision in 1990. Marc discovered that in 1980 parliament had passed a provision relating to drug literature, prohibiting it - which is how he got his free speech bug. So, he sold grow books outside the police station and they wouldn’t arrest him. To make a long story short, that gave him his interest in pot, after a visit to Southeast Asia. Eventually, in 1995, we managed to strike down the provision, which resulted in the proliferation of magazines, grow books and, really, the renaissance in cannabis culture. This became what I consider to be a minor revolution in the culture in the past 5 years that may or may not reflect a political change.

To illustrate, there is a new Simpsons show, where there is a small 3 second clip, where Otto the bus driver is smoking a joint. Something that would be an abhorrent image even 10 years ago.

CH: Are we looking at a similar scenario to the 70’s, where we get distracted from the issue by another war?

AY: Part of the problem with people in the movement is that we are constantly preaching to the converted and that we forget how ‘multiplex’ the issue is. Ultimately it will have to do with issues relating to money, and the “American Question” than the proper principle moral approach to it.

CH: Where are we going now?

AY: I still remain somewhat pessimistic about the ability of our judges to follow us because of feared implications that it has, or about the political power of government in choosing what to criminalize or not. It is not a simple issue of whether or not we supply these 800 patients, but whether we get into the business of distribution, or do we let the marijuana possession die?

CH: So, do you think they will just let the clock run out on it?

AY: Well, basically they have 6 months to make their decision.

CH: And if they don’t act?

AY: They will have to appeal. I feel that I have boxed them into a corner, because I have hit them where they are most vulnerable, which is money and expenditure.

CH: How has this affected your personal life?

AY: I think this is sad, but, in terms of students - and this reflects the demographics - it makes me one of the coolest professors. So, it is not a negative perception. I do much which is beyond the marijuana subject, so in some ways it is all consistent.

David Malmo Lavine

I began smoking pot in 1985. I was 14 years old. For me, it was an anti-stress, anti-depression, anti-fatigue, anti-insomnia, pro-appetite or “preventative” medicine and a time-slowing inspiring or “performance enhancing” medicine. Although I didn’t really see it as self-medicating at first, that’s exactly what I was doing - those were the effects cannabis consistently had and continue to have on me.

According to a 1997 Angus Reid poll, 83% of Canadians approve of cannabis when used for health reasons. Stress, depression, fatigue, loss of appetite and lack of sleep are conditions commonly treated by both pills and cannabis. Recreation, as the worldwide Webster dictionary points out, means “to restore to health”. One might argue that 83% of Canadians approve of cannabis when used for healthful recreation by healthy users in the context of preventative medicine.

In 1990, I visited Holland to see first-hand the fabled “coffee shops” - places where cannabis and hashish and mushroom sales are tolerated. As I floated around Amsterdam, searching in vain for the mayhem and social decay that prohibitionists guaranteed would result from an open cannabis market, it dawned on me: Canadians were very much like the Dutch - tolerant, freedom-loving, productive and autonomous. I remember thinking to myself “If the Dutch can handle this much freedom, why can’t we?”

My regular cannabis use did not interfere with being gainfully employed. While living in Edmonton, I worked for two years as a drug-store clerk, delivering synthetic medicine to the home-bound while selling tobacco, coffee, pop and sugar to the unstimulated and chocolate to the lonely. I worked at Tim Hortons - again selling coffee, pop, chocolate and sugar. I worked a stint as a hospital security guard, making sure the alcoholics didn’t run off for a drink as they took their bi-hourly smoke-breaks. I even worked two months as a “Recreational Therapist” at the Edmonton Young Offenders Centre. Mislabled “corrections”, it is at best “warehousing” - or, more realistically, “crime school” - for poor and aboriginal youth. In 1993, I joined with dozens of activists across the country, using flagrant violations of the law to teach hemp history and call attention to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act - then known as ‘Bill C-7’ - which had been designed to adjust Canadian cannabis law to allow for mass arrests. In 1995, my skills came to the attention of Marc Emery and others, and I was flown out from

Edmonton to Vancouver to work as a professional cannabis re-legalization activist.
On October 19, 1996, I co-founded the “Harm Reduction Club”, a direct-action cannabis re-legalization organization that demonstrated how simple it was to distribute “recreational” cannabis properly. Our club featured a pledge not to drive impaired and requested members read a “Safer, Smarter Smoking Guide”as conditions of membership. I sold the herb out of my basement apartment - all the neighbours immediately signed up.

On Dec. 4th, 1996, police raided the Harm Reduction Club at gunpoint and seized 316 g of bud. I was charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. By that time the club had grown to about 700 members.

Cst. S. Dion was tendered by the crown as an expert on cannabis trafficking. He confirmed that, to some extent, the Club offered methods to reduce the harm from any marijuana use, and that the Club was a consumer-oriented venture, following a well-established cultural tradition allowing the use of marijuana. Further, testimony from the applicant’s mother, father and apartment manager demonstrated neighbourhood, community and multi- generation support for the Club. Finally, it is very important to note that the Club’s membership card specified that members pledged not to drive while “impaired”, not merely while “under the influence”. The distinction was made to address valid community concerns while avoiding possible discriminatory practices - like the harassment of non-impaired drivers who happen to be “high” on cannabis.

In my trial, I introduced terms familiar to some drug counsellors and young pot activists but unfamiliar to police, doctors, crown prosecutors and most, but not all researchers. For example, “harm reduction” means “education, quality control and a safe point of sale”. “Education” means teaching about the hazards of prohibition but also about proper dosages and other “smarter smoking” methods. Smarter smoking means focusing on the following factors: dose, mind-set, setting, strain, quality, potency, smoke-cooling, clean ignition and clean mode-of-administration. We taught users how to look for signs of chemical fertilizers & pesticides or mold or other contaminants that may cause respiratory illness.

After reading the arguments made by John Conroy in the Caine case, I went on to represent myself at the B.C. Court of Appeal. Since then, I have studied cannabis history and law, organic farming and comparitive fertilizer radioactivity from the leading experts in these areas.

I helped then-mayor of Grand Forks Brian Taylor in his bid for a grow contract with Health Canada for the Canadian Medical Marijuana Clinical Trials. I spoke to the Senate. I ran in the last provincial and federal elections. I organize an average of 3 public protests per year and I have published 18 issues of my magazine Potshot, which I have since put on the Internet. I’ve written numerous articles for Cannabis Culture magazine, and I have been working, for the past two years, at Pot TV, a free internet video service. My show is called “High Society”- I urge everyone to examine the websites www.potshotzine.com, www.cannabisculture.com, www.pot-tv.net.

Jim Wakeford

Jim Wakeford is fighting for the right to grow marijuana for therapeutic uses and he won’t give up until he’s won. Diagnosed with HIV in 1989 and living with full blown AIDS since 1993, Jim knows his days are numbered. Jim lives on the Sunshine Coast and spends much of his time growing the herb. “It’s the most magical plant I’ve come across in my search for relief from the effects of the chemical soup of prescription pills I consume daily to survive.”

Jim has lobbied for 6 years and fought civil litigation for the past four – all for compassionate access to marijuana for therapeutic uses. It has cost over $125,000 and he doesn’t qualify for legal aid. In 1999 Jim won the constitutional right in the Ontario Superior Court to use and grow marijuana for medicinal purposes. He has been fighting ever since.

Jim was arrested three times in Ontario for developing a farm to grow marijuana for individuals who were ill, and who had exemptions for growing. It was a non-profit society and gave marijuana to sick people. Now Jim lives in B.C. and has since been arrested again for possession with the purpose of trafficking. His trial is set for Oct. 6 - 10, 2003 in Sechelt B.C..

Hundreds of sick Canadians have been granted Ministerial exemptions - people with AIDS, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, mental illness, spasm, arthritis, hepatitis, and cancer. Most are poor and can’t afford to buy marijuana. Jim has been a fighter for their right to access for six years. He has survived wasting, crooks and cops, threats, debt, exhaustion, anger, depression, diarrhea, thrush, rage and grief – unfathomable grief at the deaths of hundreds of friends.

“I am shrinking and I can see my body without me, my raw skeleton, the body I’ve loved and lived in, worked and played in. I feel thin. It hurts to sit on hard surfaces. None of my clothes fit anymore. My feet are no longer cushioned. I no longer hope for a cure. But my life is richer with fine quality marijuana. Nothing else relieves me (when) AIDS feels so unforgiving and you wonder how the hell you’re going to survive this time.”

Jim needs our support. He can no longer finance his legal battles for the rights of medicinal marijuana users. Please feel free to contact him personally to see how you can help. To contact Jim Wakeford call 604-886-0030 or by email: jwakeford@dcc.net. (Excerpts for this information was provided by the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE). For more information, contact CATIE at 1-800-263-1638.)

Cannabis For Sale

Home delivery of high quality marijuana patients can order in both official languages. http://www.marijuanahomedelivery.ca

Dec. 19th, 2002: Quebec court Judge Gilles Cadieux says Canada’s marijuana laws unfairly infringe upon the constitutional rights of patients with serious medical conditions. Cadieux says he doesn’t have the authority to declare the laws unconstitutional. As a result, he has dismissed charges of possession and trafficking in marijuana against two men, Marc (aka Boris) St-Maurice and Alexandre Neron, two members of the Montreal Compassion Club. St-Maurice and Neron were arrested in the fall of 2000 after police raided the club and seized 66 grams of marijuana. (Boris) St-Maurice, current leader of the Federal Marijuana Party, went immediately from the courthouse to a press conference where he announced that he would begin a marijuana distribution system via the internet to medical patients throughout Canada. “We are here to answer that need and to provide service to those communities and individuals unable to access Canada’s established compassion clubs.”

Provided individuals meet the following criteria: Canadian citizen, age 18 years or older, and diagnosed with an illness known to be treatable or alleviated through the use of therapeutic cannabis. There are no fees to qualify for the service, however, patients are required to provide a doctor’s letter of indication that they suffer from one of over 200 conditions listed on the site or, as an alternative, they are required to sign a sworn declaration attesting to the same. The prices of the marijuana have drawn some criticism at 2 g for $30 (Can.) or 10 g for $120 (Can.), however, as Boris points out, the cost of production and the challenges of working within the prohibitionist framework keep the cost inflated, and “obviously this is not the whole answer. The service is not for everyone, but it will help some people in an immediate crisis and it will send a message to the Government.”
The case will be watched closely by CH, by pro-cannabis and law-enforcement groups.

Larry Dupre

Larry is the founding director of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) 1994, the Chair of the Toronto Area Association of the Marijuana Party of Canada (TAAMP), founder of Quebec’s first hemp shop, “Chanvre en Ville” 1995, partner of Montreal’s second cannabis shop “Live from Earth” 1970. He also is a manufacturer, distributor, and agent of hemp products with 35 years experience as a fashion accessory importer.

After meeting Jack Here, (author of the book “The Emperor Wears No Clothes”), at the first open Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam in November of 1993 he inspired Larry to pursue business opportunities in hemp.
Although he doesn’t see himself as an activist, his first business venture was when he opened a small Head Shop in Montreal in 1970.

He believes that the cannabis issue will continue to move at a very slow pace. Government has seen this issue rise before and they have talked themselves around it until it cooled down. This is one reason we need to continue to throw it in the face of the public at every possible opportunity.

We are at the very beginning of the cannabis revolution, it will take generations of dedicated work to finally liberate this plant and achieve the full benefits of this great resource.

The Petiton

January 3, 2003 to the Stakeholder Advisory Committee on Medical Marihuana, Office of Cannabis Medical Access, Health Canada Address Locator: 3503B, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 1B9

We, the undersigned, are an internet group called Medusers, which is made up of medicinal cannabis exemptees, legally designated growers, and participants in the Office of Cannabis Medical Access (OCMA) program. We are currently the largest such organization in Canada. With the formation of the new Advisory Committee for medical marijuana access, Health Canada was to invite all key stakeholders to the table, with the intent of solving some of the practical problems involved in the implementation of this groundbreaking program. Unfortunately, the exemptees and licencees themselves have never been consulted regarding their representation.

Although Health Canada has included two very capable legal cannabis users on the Advisory Committee (Andrew McQuarrie and Gregory Robinson), their participation and time is limited to relating their own personal experiences with cannabis and the MMAR.

As this program is still under development, hundreds of Canadians continue to have trouble accessing the services of the MMAR. Furthermore, dozens of current exemptees continue to have difficulty registering under the new regulations. As such, we feel there is an immediate need for direct patient representation on the committee. This person would have a working knowledge of the MMAR, as well as experience dealing with the public and private sector, and would act as an ombudsperson for the program answering exemptee and applicant questions, and relating concerns to the Advisory Committee.

We feel this is an absolutely necessary step for the success of this program. We the undersigned respectfully request the right to nominate such a representative.

Thank you for your time; we look forward to your prompt response.
Signed: Medusers group.

Health Canada answers:
Thank you for your e-mail of January 4, 2003, in which you provided a petition requesting that a representative of the Canadian Medical Marihuana Users Group be appointed to the Stakeholder Advisory Committee on Medical Marihuana.

The Stakeholder Advisory Committee has been created to provide advice on a broad range of perspectives related to the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The Committee acts as a sounding board to the Drug Strategies and Controlled Substances Programme of Health Canada in addition to giving advice and input. The Committee, however, is not a decision-making body.

Members of the Committee bring to the table a broad range of experience and backgrounds. Given the number of perspectives and views on marijuana for medical use it was never the intention that the Committee would be able to represent all stakeholders. The challenge for Health Canada in creating the Committee was to appoint members with a variety of backgrounds while keeping the number down to permit full discussion with participation from all members. I believe that we have been successful in meeting this challenge. We have members on the Stakeholder Advisory Committee with backgrounds and experience as patients, physicians, pharmacists, law enforcement, health care and health service providers.

I should point out that while there are members on the Committee from various groups, members have agreed to sit on the Committee as individuals and not as representatives of particular organizations. This decision was made so that full discussion can take place during meetings and the Committee is not put in a position of initiating a topic but delaying discussion while representatives go to their respective organizations to confirm positions.

I appreciate that Medusers wants to be able to enter the discussion on issues related to medical use of marijuana. Please be assured that before major decisions are made regarding the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations it is Health Canada’s intention to consult with a wider group of stakeholders and that Medusers will have the opportunity to comment.

In the interim, if there is a particular issue that Medusers would like to submit for the consideration of the Stakeholder Advisory Committee, I would invite you to provide us with a written submission that could be referred to the Committee for review.

Again, I thank you for your offer to participate on the Stakeholder Advisory Committee on Medical Marihuana but must inform you that there are no plans at this time to expand the membership.

Sincerely,
Beth Pieterson
Acting Director General
Drug Strategy and Controlled Substances Programme
c.c. Dr. R. Goyer

Advice to teens about Cannabis

By Allen Town
Copied with permission from <http://parentteacher.aadac.com/parent_articles/index.asp> Allison Johnson, M.Ed., Program Consultant AADAC Youth Services Center - Calgary

CANNABIS CRASH COURSE
Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug in Canada. It is a mood-altering drug that comes from the cannabis sativa plant. People use it in three forms: as marijuana (the dried leaf of the plant), hashish and hash oil (both from the plant resin).

Marijuana and hashish are usually smoked in cigarettes (called joints or reefers), in cigars (“blunts”), in pipes, or in water pipes (“bongs”). Hash oil is added to marijuana or tobacco cigarettes. Cannabis can also be cooked in foods, for example brownies. In recent years, new growing methods have produced stronger marijuana. Hashish usually is stronger than marijuana, and hash oil is even stronger.

The cannabis “high” is the most common effect of cannabis and the reason most people use the drug. The high comes from the chemical THC (delta-9-tetrahydro-cannabinol). The sensation is not unlike mild alcohol intoxication: the user feels calm, relaxed and talkative. Colours will seem brighter, sounds and smells more distinct. Some users feel happy and start talking a lot; others get quiet and withdrawn. Minutes can seem like hours, and ordinary objects seem to have special meaning.

Marijuana can be taken to decrease nausea caused by anti-cancer drugs and increase appetite in people with AIDS.

The use of cannabis in Canada is not restricted to any particular geographical region or part of society. Easterners and westerners, the well- and less well-educated, the rich, poor, and middle class - every group has its users.

SOME ADVICE

Take a good look at your own use of medical and non-medical drugs. Your drug using behaviour exerts a powerful influence on your children, even if you believe they are too young to understand.

Prepare yourself to talk with your kids, at an age-appropriate level, about drug use. Seek out opportunities to raise the topic yourself, such as while watching TV with your child or when you’re both involved in a family activity.

Resist the urge to lecture and be prepared to hear your kids out. By keeping the lines of communication open, your kids should feel as if they can approach you for advice about most difficult issues. While you may hear things that you’d rather not, at least your kids are asking you instead of an unknown and possibly unreliable source!

Have a disciplinary style that is firm and consistent, but not autocratic. Kids need boundaries that are neither too rigid nor too loose. While home factors are only one facet of a child’s drug problem, kids with problems often come from families where the discipline is either extremely restrictive or extremely permissive. Essentially, it’s impossible to prevent teens from taking risks; it’s what adolescence is all about. That said, there is a difference between the sort of behaviour that begets a healthy adult and the sort that doesn’t. Experience, good and bad, helps to define us as mature human beings, and one cannot bestow it upon another. It must be encountered directly.

The danger in simply forbidding unhealthy risk-taking occurs when nothing viable is offered to replace it, rendering the forbidden act all the more attractive to some teens. Crossing the line into risky territory may have less to do with rebellion per se than the need to fulfil the developmental imperative, which teens will do in any way they can.

It is also essential for parents to stay in touch with their children; to know who their friends are, what they like to do, and where they hang out. In doing so, parents can stay alert for behaviour changes that may signal a problem.

Don’t be afraid to ask others for advice. Unfortunately, kids don’t arrive with instruction manuals! Asking for help when you’re at a loss is a feature of excellent parenting, not a sign of failure.

Ask Dr. Ethan

Medicine is an ever-changing science. While suggestions for therapeutic use of cannabis or other drugs may be made herein, this forum is designed solely for educational purposes, and neither the author, publisher, nor other parties, will assume any liability whatever for application or misapplication of any information imparted. We cannot claim scientific proof or accuracy of the material discussed, and no warranty, expressed or implied is advanced with regard to the information.

Cannabis is illegal in most jurisdictions, and the reader must apply awareness of this fact when considering its usage. Medical use of cannabis may or may not be a viable legal defense where you reside. Canadian clinical cannabis patients are encouraged to seek exemptions under existing law from Health Canada. The proper forms and procedures are available on their web site. Full disclosure and discussion of medical issues with your health care providers is encouraged, as is proper education with respect to effects and side effects of existing medication.

On the Ozonators - Jan /Feb edition.

Numerous Cannabis Health readers have read my response to the question about family illness related to their proximity to a grow-op in the previous edition and suggested that the ozone-producing machine was the actual culprit. There were enough “anecdotal responses” to make this quite plausible. For the sake of my own education, I plugged the search terms “migraine” and “ozone” in to the PubMed (National Library of Medicine) database and returned the following:

A Russian article from 2000 that actually claims benefits on migraine from ozone treatments!( links to this article at CH web site) I believe that my initial advice was probably sound: anytime someone is suffering symptoms of illness related to exposure to an unusual sensory stimulus, chemical or device, they would be well advised to limit that exposure. Caution is certainly warranted in relation to the ozone-producer.

On the dangers of chocolate to Dogs: "sharing my brownies” Jan/Feb edition
I certainly should point out an important fact. Chocolate is relatively toxic to dogs, and can be fatal in high doses. The culprit is theobromine, a natural component of cocoa powder. Thus, dogs should not eat brownies or other chocolate. Some people also have adverse effects, while others are extremely attached to it.

Q 1:
Dear Dr. Ethan
My 25 year old son was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia. He started to use marijuana when he was in high school and has been a regular daily smoker. His marks were ok and my husband and myself allowed him to smoke discretely at home, as we ourselves have always done. Both my husband and myself are now feeling terribly guilty that we have caused or contributed to this problem by setting a bad example and by being too lenient. We do not have a family history of mental illness and until we heard the news reports we had not even worried about the effects of marijuana. How much of what is being said is true? How guilty should we be feeling?
K.P. from North of Prince George, B.C.

A 1:
There has been a tremendous amount of publicity lately about issues of cannabis and schizophrenia. The latest broadside against cannabis was launched by the British Medical Journal with one editorial and 3 articles purporting that cannabis causes schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. ( links to the PDF’s are available at the CH site) Generically, I can say the following: The issue of cannabis as causing mental illness has been debated for at least 1,000 years, usually on the basis of hysteria and myths, such as that of the hashish-crazed assassins. There is no substantiation of the whole story according to the thesis of Michael Aldrich. It is apocryphal. (a legendary un-truth) The first serious survey of cannabis in schizophrenia was the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission in 1893-1894. They scoured the country’s asylums for cases of cannabis psychosis and came up with a mere handful of cases where there was not some alternative explanation. Their conclusion was that cannabis did not cause permanent harm of this nature. Everyone knows that a rare patient may have a temporary psychosis that seems to be triggered by cannabis overuse. Virtually all recover. In contrast, alcohol clearly rots one’s brain in overuse.

The same conclusion that cannabis did not “cause permanent psychosis” was reached in the Panama Canal Zone studies in the 1920’s and the LaGuardia Commission report of 1944. The IOM in 1999 and the Canadian Senate Report in 2002 came to the same conclusion with lots of other studies in between.

Some people will have schizophrenia and depression, and in some cases, cannabis will not help, or may even contribute to the problem. However, there is just as much high quality evidence that cannabis ameliorates symptoms for afflicted people. See study by Leweke et al. (web), which shows that anandamide is elevated naturally in schizophrenics. This may be a natural defense, in that anandamide also becomes elevated in the face of stress. THC shares most actions with anandamide.

An even more pertinent and compelling study the drug warriors never cite, Warner et al., 1994 (web) studied substance abuse among schizophrenics. Interestingly, psychotic patients that smoked cannabis had relatively lower hospitalization rates than those that abused other substances, had reduced “activation symptoms” and reported benefits on concomitant depression, anxiety, insomnia and pain.
I also address this topic in the cannabis chapter in Handbook of Psychotropic Herbs (web). Thus the truth on this issue is a shade of gray that is much closer to white than it is to the black that the BMJ, ONDCP and other acronyms espouse.

Specifically to the BMJ articles, I can say the following:
In the Patton study from Australia, the only real increased association involved depressed and anxious girls who smoked cannabis daily. They did not have excess use of other substances, and that was taken to mean that cannabis must have had a causal effect. Notably, no one analyzed why the subjects smoked, or confirmed diagnoses via more specific testing. There is more heat than light.

It is quite possible that many of the patients had symptoms of one kind or another that were alleviated in some fashion by cannabis (e.g, the depression, anxiety or even gynecological issues such as endometriosis).
Why would they use more tobacco, alcohol or other drugs to try to treat their symptoms? They would not help, and would not necessarily be sought out preferentially.

The Zammit study from Sweden on schizophrenia is most suspect. They examined Swedish conscripts from 1969. This investigation seems to be an attempt to rehabilitate an extremely criticized study of the same cohort published in 1987 by Andreasson et al: Zimmer and Morgan savaged this study in Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts. The current authors claim that, based on their data, up to 13% of schizophrenia incidence could be attributable to cannabis. This is an unsubstantiated and outrageous allegation. Keep in mind that only 1.4% of the conscripts that ever smoked cannabis wound up schizophrenic. Men of such age are at the critical time of development of the disorder. All of the eventual schizophrenics in the earlier study were recognized to have some psychiatric issue before they entered the service!

The Arsenault study examined a cohort of young New Zealanders for cannabis use vs. development of adult psychosis. In this 1 page article, “controls” smoked cannabis 0-2 times, while “cannabis users” took the drug “three times or more” by age 15 and continued at some unspecified rate of intake by age 18. Supposedly smoking cannabis increased the incidence of psychosis in adults, and it was more likely the earlier they began.
If cannabis were truly etiological in development of psychosis, it would be reasonable to expect some dose-response effect. That is not evident here in any respect. As they say, “more study is warranted.” As a journal editor, I would never have even published this “investigation”. It contributes nothing to our understanding of the alleged problem.

With respect to the young man in question, it is really not possible to state on the basis of the evidence whether his use of cannabis has been a net plus or net minus. I do feel strongly that you should not feel guilty about this, as there is no credible evidence that it would cause permanent damage, despite the recent barrage of questionable articles.

Finally, there is one other important factor: cannabidiol (CBD) a component of cannabis under-represented in north american strains but common in north african and indian hashish, is certainly an effective anti-psychotic. I would refer you to an excellent article from Brazil: and a superb current review from the famous Dr. Mechoulam in Israel (web).

Thus, the right strain of cannabis may well be very helpful in treatment of psychosis, and could be a treatment of the future.

Q 2:
Dear Dr. Russo
I am 40 years old and use cannabis to help cope with the everyday life of living with Spinocerebellar Ataxia. At age 33 and suffering from advancing symptoms of the disease, I had to leave my job, unable to keep up with the stressful demands of the labour market. It became increasingly difficulty to balance in walking, with slurred speech and trouble focusing, it was clear to me that I had to stop working. I was wondering if there is some way that I may use cannabis to improve my quality of life?

A 2:
Spinocerebellar ataxias are a group of diseases, and there are few hard and fast rules. We do know that cannabis can aggravate ataxia in some patients. However, there is considerable evidence that it may ameliorate other symptoms. Where there is associated tremor, cannabis may help: The benefits of cannabis in spasticity are now well established in MS, with a review in the following: Petro, D.J. 2002. Cannabis in multiple sclerosis. Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics 2(3-4):161-175.

More importantly, there is a building body of evidence that cannabis may help slow or even arrest progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Both THC and CBD are neuroprotective. Its use has been suggested in ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or “Lou Gehrig’s disease”). In a spinocerebellar ataxia, experimentation with cannabis, particularly via vapourization, would be very interesting. Many of my patients with these diseases report generous benefits.

Genetics 101 with Dr David West

David West has a Ph.D. in Plant breeding and genetics. He has been an applied plant breeder for 25 years. He is the author of “Fiber Wars: The Extinction of Kentucky Hemp”; “Hemp and Marijuana: Myths and Realities” and other treatises on hemp available at www.gametec.com/hemp/. Dr. West directs the Hawaii Industrial Hemp Project, now in its fourth year.

Brian Taylor and I were talking about the many different varieties of cannabis already to be found with the private growers around the Kootenays. I wasn’t suitably amazed and he asked me to explain why.
Variation is easy to generate, I begin. In fact, it’s almost impossible to avoid if you grow from seed. But why? Where do all those different types come from? OK. School’s on.

Cannabis is a wind-pollinated out-crosser. The world of seed-propagated plants (as opposed to those that have developed other, asexual methods of perpetuating their kind) can be roughly divided into out-crossers and self-pollinators (with zero to low out-crossing). The pollen carried on the wind to cannabis females is a mix of all the pollen being shed by males in the vicinity. So, to begin with, each sibling seed from a given female has the same mother but potentially a different father, they’re “half-sibs”. So, right away you have one big source of variation: every individual has random parentage.

But aside from that obvious source, let’s say you’re growing in, well, say, a mineshaft (is that too unbelievable?), and you take pains to ensure there’s only one male. Now all the seed from a given female is full-sib, sharing the same two parents. But when you grow out the seed, the variation in the progeny is still rampant. What gives?
This variation arises from the fact that, in the case of cannabis, each parent is highly “heterozygous”. Let’s talk about that.

Recall from high school biology that the “higher” organisms are formed by the fusion of gametes (sperm and egg) to form the zygote which then proceeds to grow into the whole organism. The gametes have half the number of chromosomes that the cells of the whole organism have. That number is referred to as “N”. The number of chromosomes in the cells of the organism is therefore 2 times N, or 2N. The 2n (we don’t usually capitalize the n so I’ll stop) number of chromosomes is actually n pairs of chromosomes, cannabis has 20 chromosomes, 10 pairs; same as maize, coincidentally.

The formation of gametes involves a unique form of cell division call meiosis during which the 2n (referred to as the “diploid” state) is reduced to 1n (or just n, called the “haploid” state). If the gametes weren’t haploid, their fusion in the zygote would produce a 4n (“tetraploid”) state, then the next time 8n. In nature, chromosome doubling of this type occurs very rarely, but it can be evolutionarily significant. However, we’re not going there now. For the most part, the effect of chromosome number abnormality is deleterious and the organism rarely survives. It’s worth mentioning only because sometime back naïve cannabis experimenters believed that using a dangerous chemical named colchicine, which can produce higher ploidy would enhance the potency of the plant. Let’s stay with nature’s diploids.

So, now we’ve established that cannabis has 10 pairs of chromosomes, and people who study chromosomes (by watching them through a microscope) number the pairs 1 through 10. The pollen coming from the male parent brought its ten, and ten in the ovule in the flower of the female. Pollination is followed by zygote formation and with time a seed is formed carrying the embryo that awaits germination to grow into the new plant.

Now back to the chromosomes. We started talking about chromosomes because I mentioned that the variation observed in progenies was a result of the heterozygosity of the parents. Chromosomes are string-like objects in cells which consist of the DNA backbone we all know as the “stuff” of genetics, and a lot of proteins. Chromosomes are too fine to be seen, except when cells are getting ready to divide during the normal process of cell division that produces growth (“mitosis”) or that special form of cell division that lead to the gametes (“meiosis”). As cells prepare to divide, the chromosomes “condense” - that is, they become visible because they supercoil themselves into visible, dense objects. I mentioned earlier that people who study this (“cytogeneticists”) give the chromosomes numbers: they are actually recognizable by their morphology - shape, length, knobs, things like that. Chromosomes are where the genes are. A gene is a sequence of the linear, double helix DNA molecule to which we can assign control over some aspect of the organism’s development. Genes are usually described as being arrayed along the chromosome “like beads on a string”. The condition called heterozygosity, then, is that genetic state when a gene on the chromosome of a given pair - say, chromosome #1 - coming from the mother differs from the corresponding gene on the paternal chromosome 1.
How does that explain the variation we’re trying to understand? Let’s say for simplicity that we’re just talking about one particular gene. Say it’s the RED gene. In genetic terminology we’d actually refer to the region on the chromosome where the RED gene is found as the “RED locus” (pl. loci), so at the RED locus of chromosome pair #1, the gene that was carried in the pollen (male gamete/sperm) may differ from the one coming from the female gamete (egg). Another bit of genetic jargon: the term for these differing versions of the same gene is “allele”. Keeping with our colourful analogy, we might say the mother’s allele is CRIMSON and the father’s allele is SCARLET, variation on the theme, still RED, but different.

So now, by way of concluding, what will happen in the next generation? A heterozygous male is going to produce two kinds of pollen with respect to the RED locus (the “kinds” increasing exponentially as we expand our consideration to more and more loci) and a heterozygous female the same. So now we have CRIMSON pollen and SCARLET pollen and CRIMSON eggs and SCARLET eggs. They get together in zygotes at random, pairing as CRIMSON/CRIMSON or SCARLET/SCARLET or CRIMSON/SCARLET. The last condition is once again heterozygous; the other two are “homozygous”, since they have the same allele at the RED locus of chromosome

1. Depending on what the gene actually does, say it colours the plant, these three different combinations may be visibly distinguishable.

Now impose that model on real life where there are tens of thousands of genetic loci, each potentially heterozygous, and the combinations quickly become myriad, which is what I meant at the outset when I said that parents were “highly” heterozygous.

Is that all? No, not hardly. At some future date we’ll look further into that miracle of nature, meiosis, and at a process that is truly spellbinding in its intricacy and at the root of the variation we’re discussing and, moreover, the ability of plant breeders to bring forth new and improved varieties, the process called “genetic recombination”. But that’s all for now. Class over.

Cannabis Clinic
Macro and Micronutrients

by Michael Straumietis

Micronutrient Deficiencies - Definitions
Mottling: Appearance of patches of green and non-green areas on leaves.

Firing: Yellowing, followed by rapid death of lower leaves, moving up the plant and giving the same appearance as if someone touched the bottom of the plants.

Necrosis: Severe deficiencies result in the death of the entire plant or parts of the plant first affected by the deficiency. The plant tissue browns and dies. The tissue which has already died on a still living plant is called necrotic.

Necrotic: - dead spots
Chlorosis: General yellowing of the leaf tissue. A common symptom, since many nutrients affect the photosynthesis process directly or indirectly.

Interveinal Chlorosis: Yellowing in between leaf veins, but with the veins themselves remaining green. In grasses, this is called striping.

Rosetting: Very short inter-nodding.

Stippling: Spotting and dotting on plant’s leaves.

Cannabis needs the correct combination of macro and micronutrients to live, grow and bloom properly. When plants are under or overfed, they will show symptoms of being unhealthy. Cannabis nutrients fall into 2 categories: macronutrients and micronutrients. Macro-nutrients are the elements that cannabis needs in large amounts. They are: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulfur. Micronutrients are the elements that cannabis needs in small amounts (sometimes called trace elements). They are iron, manganese, copper, zinc, molybdenum, cobalt, boron and chlorine. Of all the micronutrient deficiencies in cannabis we will first see iron, manganese and zinc, most common in flowering and in vegetative growth. Though these elements are only needed in small amounts, they are very critical to the uptake of macronutrients.

For instance, Advanced Nutrients’ research in cannabis nutrient uptake has found that the right combination of iron and sulfur uptake is very important for optimal nitrogen uptake. This is just one area of micronutrients to macronutrient research uptake. There are many more combination of micronutrients to macronutrients that are critical to each other. This is why it is important to diagnose deficiencies or toxicities as early as possible. If one micro or macronutrient is not in its proper proportion, it can have a negative cascading effect on the rest of the plant’s nutrient uptake.

When you see something is wrong on your plant, where on the plant is also very crucial to narrowing down what the deficiency is. Macro and micronutrients fall into two other categories, mobile and immobile. Mobile nutrient deficiencies will show up in older growth first. Immobile nutrient deficiencies will show up in new growth first. Mobile cannabis elements are nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, molybdenum, magnesium and zinc. Immobile cannabis elements are iron, copper, manganese, chlorine, cobalt, boron, calcium, and sulfur, however, sulfur deficiency is kind of tricky to identify, but most of the time will show up on older growth first. Sulfur is a semi-mobile element. To make your life easier, Advanced Nutrients has developed a pictorial series of common nutrient deficiencies that affect cannabis.

Once you figure out your plant’s specific deficiencies, you should ask yourself why this occurred. Maybe it’s not a deficiency at all; perhaps there is an environmental issue, or misuse of equipment. For instance, your plant is very yellow at the top with some browning, and the rest of the plant is healthy down below. Most likely your light is too close to the plant. We have included other pictures of problems cannabis can have to narrow down your plant’s deficiencies.

If you do have a deficiency and you are using a good quality hydroponic solution, most likely your problems are with your pH being too low or too high. Cannabis will grow in a pH range of 5 to 7, however this is far from ideal at the low and high end of that particular pH range. Your pH for sphagnum moss mixes and soils should be pH 6.2 - 6.5, with 6.3 being ideal. For hydroponic growing mediums, a pH 5.5 - 5.8, with 5.6 being ideal. Also, your nutrient strength (ppm or EC) may be too low or too high. If you are just starting out or an intermediate grower, a range of 1,000-1,400 ppm is ideal. If you are a master grower, you can drive your plants hard with CO2 and proper environmental conditions, and a nutrient solution of 1,800 ppm or more.

\You absolutely must know your cannabis strain and keep a very careful eye on your plants. Also, you should drain and change your nutrient reservoir every week. Do not wait 2-3 weeks to change your nutrient solution, because as your plants use up some elements, they are not using others. Eventually there will be an abundance or deficiency of one or more elements, causing nutrient lock-up or starting the domino effect of multiple plant toxicities or deficiencies. By avoiding some of these common mistakes and identifying nutrient deficiencies early on, you will be well on your way to a bountiful and healthy crop.

Diagnosis

Iron (Fe) (immobile in plant, immobile in high pH soil)
Iron deficiency in cannabis starts with interveinal chlorosis in young leaves; leaf veins will be green in colour, older leaves unaffected. Leaves are sometimes small with this most common micronutrient deficiency. Iron deficiency is especially a problem in calcareous soils (alkaline conditions) or in wet, poorly drained soils. Can be made more soluble by acidifying conditions, or adding chelation agents. Interveinal chlorotic mottling of immature leaves and, in severe cases, the new leaves will completely lack chlorophyll, but with little or no necrotic spots. The chlorotic mottling of immature leaves may first start near the bases of the leaflets, so that the middle of the leaf appears to have a yellow streak. Cool, wet weather enhances iron deficiencies, especially on soils with marginal levels of available iron. Iron is difficult for plants to absorb and moves slowly within the plant. Always use chelated (immediately available to the plant) iron in nutrient mixes. Poorly aerated or compacted soils also reduce iron uptake by plants. Uptake of iron decreases with increased soil pH, and is adversely affected by high levels of available P, Mn and Zn in soils. Excessive iron causes bronzing of leaves with tiny brown spots. Cannabis uses iron for a protein and nucleic acid metabolism, chlorophyll formation and electron transportation. Enzymes (catalase, peroxidase, cytochromes) are also a component of protein ferredoxin, light energy transferring compounds involved in photosynthesis. Iron and sulfur ratio in cannabis is in direct relation to the plant’s ability to uptake nitrogen.

Manganese (Mn) (immobile in plant, immobile in high pH soils)
Manganese deficiency in cannabis will show up on young leaves first, they develop interveinal chlorosis (yellowing between veins or mottling laterally along the leaf margins). This discoloration goes from light green to white while veins remain green. The leaves turn bronze and then die. Manganese becomes deficient in soils with a pH higher than 6.8. Brown necrotic spots appear on leaves with very severe manganese deficiencies, re-
sulting in premature leaf drop, stunting of leaves, shoots and buds. Severe manganese deficiencies mimic magnesium deficiencies. Excessive manganese causes deficiencies in zinc and iron, overall plant growth is slow, older leaves have brown spots surrounded by a chlorotic circle or zone. Excessively high calcium and phosphorus can require more manganese. Manganese works with plant enzymes to reduce nitrates before producing proteins. Manganese is also involved in pollen germination, respiration, photosynthesis and nitrogen assimilation. It also activates many enzymes and plays a pivotal part in the chloroplast membrane system.

Zinc (Zn) (mobile in plants, immobile in high ph soils)
Zinc deficiency needs to be corrected early. It causes bright interveinal chlorosis in young and mid-shoot leaves. It can produce interveinal yellowish areas starting at leaf tip and margins. It will eventually affect all growing points of the plant. The interveinal chlorotic mottling may be the same as that for iron and manganese deficiencies, except for the development of exceptionally small and narrowing leaves and rosetting (short internodes). Grayish brown spots can form on leaves halfway up the plant and then spread. When zinc deficiency onset is sudden, such as when the zinc is left out of the nutrient solution, the chlorosis can appear identical to that of iron and manganese deficiency without the small leaves. Zinc toxicity often looks like copper deficiency, because it will interfere with the uptake of copper. Plants suffering from certain fungal and viral diseases can appear to have zinc deficiency. The leaves can curve upwards or have a slight leaf roll. Excess zinc can cause iron deficiencies and, in extreme cases, death. It is uncommon to find an excess of zinc. Never use a metal reservoir like a farm feed tank or metal garbage can, because they are zinc-coated, and as time goes on, this coating will come off easily and poison your plants with toxic zinc build-up. Also, be careful of some lava rocks, (most manufacturers know the mineral composition of their lava rocks) that contain high levels of zinc that will release over time. Zinc is essential for growth regulation and in regulating sugar consumption. Zinc improves the efficiency of chlorophyll function. Zinc is a component in many enzymes and is important in enzyme systems, particularly for water absorption and utilization It is essential for plant hormone balance, especially auxin (IAA) activity and electron transport.

Cannabis Grow Room

Buddy is a medical user dealing with pain from a 1984 auto accident. He has been steadily improving his room for the past 9 years, and over the past few years has grown two crops per year, choosing to not grow in the summer months. When he recently built a modest home on a spacious 1/4 acre lot, he included a 6x10 foot purpose-built grow room in the basement. Bud wanted to make the grow area as safe as possible for his family. The room is isolated from the main basement using drywall and black and white plastic with insulation in the separation wall.

Buddy grows 6 to 8 plants to a height of approx. 30” from the pot. The plants are nicely shaped with multiple flowering branches and are spaced apart to allow a walkway down the centre and access to the plant from all sides. The floors are painted white to reflect light upwards. Overhead is a 1,000 Watt High Pressure Sodium and tucked into the corner of the same shade is a 400 Watt High Pressure Sodium. The whole light system travels on a 6’ track on a 7 to 10 min. return cycle. Six 75 Watt fluorescent tubes 8 feet long, are mounted on the side of the room. The plants are in 3 gal pots elevated by 2” from the floor, in a perlite-rich potting soil that allows for good drainage. The custom cement floor slants to a drain in the corner. All controls, ballasts and timers are located on the wall outside the room. The cannabis strain that Buddy grows produces heavy trichome, high cannabinoid levels and a volume of 3 lbs per cycle. The only drawback is the exceptionally long budding cycle of 10 to 12 weeks.

Buddy’s tips on growing:
#1 - Place your plants in the pots with soil sloping away, avoid stem rot and always keep your nutrient-rich water away from the plant stem.

#2 - Control air movement, heat and humidity. Use a small dehumidifier and move air around the room with two 6” desk fans mounted on the wall. Keep your fans on all the time. Let your dark cycle temp. drop to 60æF.
Buddy’s future plan: “Although both my wife and I find the odour pleasant and rather mild, I plan to install an ozonator that will allow me to exit air to the outside.”

CH thanked Buddy for his trust and co-operation in sharing his room and was overcome by his response, “No! Thank YOU for a chance to share and for giving guys like me a voice and the respectable image we deserve.” Once again Buddy explains the joy and relaxation he gets from the 2 hours average per day he spends pampering his pets. I miss my chance to challenge him on the possibility that the unusually long time his plants take to finish may be due more to his separation anxiety than his genetics. Buddy is a shy, generous man, who loves his plants and lives a responsible life offering a hand to those around him. A truly dangerous breed.Thanks, Buddy

Cooking with Cannabis

Making marijuana butter

Supplies & Ingredients:
8 oz bud trim
1 lb (2 cups) butter
Large pot & lid
Large glass bowl
Metal spoon

Step 1 - Add bud trim to large pot, cover with cold water. Add the lb of butter on top. Bring to a boil & stir in butter as it melts.
Step 2 - Turn heat down - but maintain boiling. Cover & cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Step 3 - Remove from heat. Place one spoonful of bud trim at a time into strainer. Press all liquid butter out of the strainer with the metal spoon into a large glass bowl. Repeat the process until you have all the liquid butter separated from the bud trim.
Step 4 - Leave the bowl with the liquid butter on the counter until cool (4 to 5 hrs). Then place it in the fridge, uncovered, overnight. Discard the bud trim - it makes great compost!
Step 5 - Next morning skim solidified butter from the top of the bowl into a glass measuring cup. Discard green/brown liquid left in the bottom of the bowl.
Makes 1 - 1.25 cups of strong marijuana butter. Will store in fridge up to 1 month.

Making Cookies with Marijuana Butter

Use store-bought cookie mix that calls for 1 egg and 1/4 cup oil.
(peanut or oatmeal works best)

Substitute oil for melted marijuana
butter (microwave for 45 sec. - 1 min.)

Follow cookie recipe, but make cookies 1/2 the recommended size. 60 cookies to 1/4 cup of marijuana butter makes a nice strong single dose cookie. This can vary with the quality of bud trim.

Caution:
Do not take more than one cookie on the first try. If in doubt, try a bite first, then wait one hour.
The butter and cookies are potent. Label well and keep out of reach of the unsuspecting - overdosing on edible cannabis is very uncomfortable.

Canadians Wanted for health benefits trials using Cannabis as a medicinal food.

Extropian Agroforestry Ventures (EAV) is a family farm operation that is mixing cannabis with native species to make a potent and unique health formula.The motivation is personal. When Johnson’s wife Arla was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1989, Morris immediately intensified a study of anti-degenerative medicine he had begun in 1974.
Informed dietary choices as part of one’s normal lifestyle can be an effective form of preventive therapy, says EAV’s Morris Johnson, and daily consumption multiplies the benefits of eating these foods.

Johnson and a group of like-minded area farmers from Saskatchewan are making an innovative meal replacement snack bar called Lifespan, consisting of about 20 ingredients, including hemp seed, buffalo berry, cranberry, buckwheat leaf, ginger, bovine colostrum, flax, mustard and rice bran. “All of these foods are pretty ordinary, but to get the benefits from them on a daily basis, you would have to have a pretty unusual diet. So it’s convenient to put them all into a snack bar form,” says Morris.

Morris’s wife, Arla Johnson, is also a holder of a Health Canada medical marijuana permit, and Morris holds a permit to grow Arla’s medicinal marijuana. Together they have created a high THC version of the Lifespan bar which Morris has dubbed the “XXXXtra-THC Lifespan bar”.

To-date, EAV has compiled a small patient history package which contains key health benefits data relating to the XXXXtra-THC and Hemp Lifespan Bars. However, Morris says they need to compile more data.
Currently EAV is looking for people who have active glaucoma, fibromyalgia, arthritis, sinusitis, diabetes, or are undergoing cancer radiotherapy. All volunteers will participate in a larger health benefits study with Lifepan bars.
EAV is appealing to readers of Cannabis Health to consider participating in these trials.
More data will lead to health claims to be made for cannabis and products which contain cannabis under new incoming herbal laws, the Natural Health Product Regulations. This would help a lot of people.
For more information, contact Morris Johnson, Chief Technology Officer, EAV, Tel: 306-447-4944, e-mail: megao@sk.sympatico.ca, EAV: Road 707 South, Box 33, Beaubier, S0C 0H0, #2 - 1st Ave. West, Lake Alma, S0C 1M0.

Library

Marijuana for Dopes

In the early 70’s, after I had learned about the stress & pain relief benefits of cannabis, I was watching a talk show hosted by Dick Cavett. Dick was interviewing George Carlin, a comedian who was well know for his “hippy dippy weather man” routine, and asked him what he thought of the “dope problem”.
George’s reply was, “definitely too many dopes!”

George may have been referring to something else, but after reading this book, I felt like I was a dope. After 30 years of being a cannabis smoker, I was humbled to learn so much in a concise, entertaining, easy to read book.
Joseph Romain traces marijuana’s history from ancient cultures and religions through to its entrance into North America, digging up more than just facts.

How did marijuana, a slang term for all types of cannabis, become the accepted official word we use? It is a very interesting story that leads into how the “War on Drugs”, or the prohibition of marijuana, affected more than just the stuff that gets smoked. Joseph explains how it effectively crushed a burgeoning hemp industry that was ready to compete industrially with the cotton industry, synthetic fibre industry, petrochemical fuel & plastic industry, food, and the pharmaceutical industries.

I hadn’t known that the ban on using cannabis for research purposes was put in place after the “La Guardia Report”, which was commissioned in 1944, concluded that the publicity concerning the catastrophic effects of marijuana smoking in New York was unfounded and that marijuana smokers should be left alone. Gee, I wonder what that was about... NOT! In Joseph’s words, “The war on drugs has guaranteed the viability of an illicit market while making the ligitimate economics virtually impossible”.

Joseph doesn’t give you that kind of feeling that you get when you are caught up in some paranoid conspiracy theory. Facts are layed out in a sometimes humorous way, but you draw your own conclusions.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Marijuana for Dopes, and don’t feel like one any more.
Thanks until next time,
Rip Ready
Marijuana for dopes, published by Warwick Publishing is available at most book stores or order it on-line at our virtual mall at www.cannabishealth.com

U.S.A. continues to rage war on drugs
On Jan. 31st, 2003 a jury convicted Ed Rosenthal, a pro-marijuana activist and author on charges of growing the drug – which could result in up to life imprisonment. These U.S. Federal laws stand in stark contrast to the Canadian legal scene where the government is under pressure to decriminalize the use of marijuana. Over the past month the prosecution of Ed Rosenthal - the “Ask Ed” columnist for High Times and Cannabis Culture magazines and author of more than a dozen books – represents the U.S. Federal Government’s strategy to dismantle state and local laws ensuring safe and legal access of medical marijuana for critically ill patients.
Rosenthal was arrested in Feb. 2002, after agents raided an Oakland facility, where starter plants were being grown for medical marijuana patients. This prosecution is widely perceived as an attack on California’s Compassionate Use Act, Prop. 215, and Rosenthal is seen as a high profile target in attempts to eradicate medical marijuana laws. He was charged with growing more than 3,000 marijuana plants for distribution to medical marijuana clubs. Rosenthal, 58, faces a minimum of 10 years to life imprisonment under federal mandatory minimums, as well as a possible $6.5 million in fines.

From the outset of the trial, the presiding Judge Charles Breyer blocked defense attorneys in attempts to put on the stand several witnesses, and in using evidence that referred to the medical nature of Rosenthal’s activities. Judge Breyer ruled that the nature of the activities could not be discussed, nor his relationship with the
City of Oakland’s medical cannabis program. As a result the defense was severely limited in the questions they could ask and the evidence they could present.

Even jury selection was difficult. One of the defense attorneys called it “the most remarkable day of jury selection” he had ever witnessed, with more than half of the potential jurors excused by the Judge because they expressed strong support for medical marijuana and the need to reform federal laws decriminalizing marijuana.
“With 80% of Americans supporting medical marijuana, it’s no surprise that there should be such a day in court,” said Steph Sherer, Executive Director for Americans for Safe Access. “This simply reflects that people have made up their minds about medical marijuana.”

“I think the jury knew what the case was all about,” said Rosenthal after the curtailed case. He said Breyer “didn’t want the whole truth; he only wanted pieces of it.”
In closing arguments Assistant U.S. Attorney portrayed his case as black and white: “Cultivation of marijuana is a federal offense - period. Nothing else matters.”

To support Ed Rosenthal and others you can donate to: www.green-aid.com. Information on the trial and other issues are available on the web at Green Aid or www.safeaccessnow.org