"Rock keeps talking about
doing trials, but trials have already been done. There is already sufficient proof that
cannabis helps people deal with their pain." -- Ontario Arthritic Facing Marijuana
Charge.
"My death will be slow and painful. Now, I have this criminal charge against me,
and my children are about to lose their daddy over it."
(Marijuananews note: The Canadian Health
Minister is being criticized for his lack of urgency in providing medical marijuana. This
sort of case -- and especially this sort of journalism -- in a country where there is
near-consensus in favor of medical marijuana is going to make it more difficult for him to
stall… if that is what he has in mind. For the longer term, research to better understand how cannabis works
certainly makes sense, but it is completely pointless to delay access for patients to see
whether it works.
Would seriously ill people being using it for symptomatic relief,
it if something else worked better?)
See
Canadian House Of
Commons Votes 204 to 29 To Urge The Health Ministry
To "Take Steps" Toward Legalizing Marijuana For Medical Use.
Bloc Quebecois Seeks to Keep Pressure On Health Minister.
and
Canadian Justice Runs
Out of Patience With Government
Before Patient Runs Out Of Time;
Exempts Wakeford From Marijuana Laws. Implications for Others
MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION TOO LATE FOR LOCAL MAN
May 27, 1999
From The Sudbury Star
editorial@siteseer.ca
http://www.thesudburystar.com
sudburystar@siteseer.ca
By Rob O’Flanagan
A Chelmsford man is up on charges of possession and trafficking in a substance he calls
a painkiller. That substance is marijuana.
Barry Burkholder, 34, says he needs the healing power of cannabis to deal with the pain
of chronic arthritis and with various ailments associated with recently-diagnosed
hepatitis C.
Burkholder says he contracted hepatitis C 14 years ago from an unsterilized tattoo
needle.
Sometimes his pain is so bad, he says, he cannot turn a door
knob. His seven-year-old daughter, Nicole, has to help him up from the floor when he
falls.
Doctors continue to prescribe drugs which Burkholder believes are addictive and
dangerous to his malfunctioning liver. The one thing he feels good about taking, and which
makes him feel good, is pot.
On Wednesday, the federal government moved a step closer to legalizing the use of
marijuana for medical purposes. A Bloc Quebecois motion calling for the legalization of
pot for medical reasons passed Tuesday night in the House of Commons.
The motion calls on the government to "take steps immediately" to develop
clinical trials, guidelines for its use and a safe supply of marijuana for people who need
it for medical reasons.
But Burkholder is not optimistic.
"If it passes and becomes law, that will be great,"
said Burkholder, whose fingers are permanently bent from a debilitating strain of
arthritis which is hereditary.
"But they’re not moving fast enough. (Health Minister) Allan Rock keeps
talking about doing trials, but trials have already been done. There is already sufficient
proof that cannabis helps people deal with their pain. The pot takes the pain from the
arthritis away. It helps me sleep and it reduces depression. My liver can’t take
these prescription drugs, but I can’t legally use marijuana."
"And if I can’t, my death will be slow and painful. Now, I have this
criminal charge against me, and my children are about to lose their daddy over it."
Following Tuesday’s vote, Rock said he would move quickly to publicize the
government’s plan for legalizing pot for medical reasons.
Burkholder says he will apply for permission to use the drug. To date, two people in
Canada can grow and use marijuana without being charged. They are Jim Wakeford, an Ontario
man living with AIDS, and Terry Parker, a Toronto man who has epilepsy.
"I’ve been charged with possession for the purpose of
trafficking," says Burkholder. "But pot is my medicine. I don’t traffic in
the stuff, I smoke it to relieve my pain."
With files from the Canadian Press
Copyright: 1999 The Sudbury Star
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