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Legalization Inevitable says Buyers Club
By Hempology | April 9, 2007
Brian Dryden, Weekend Edition staff; Dec. 6, 1996 John arrives at an apartment in Victoria. “How are you feeling today?? he is asked. John, who has a chronic illness, replies, “Some days are better than others.? After a short conversation, John is asked what he needs. “An eighth,? he says. A scale is pulled out, money exchanges hands, and John has his eighth of an ounce of marijuana. It is illegal. But is it wrong? Marijuana and marijuana-based products are being sold in Victoria not only to people wanting to get a buzz, but also as a way to deal with health problems. For the past 11 month a low-key effort has been made to get pot into the hands of the chronically and terminally ill through what is called the Vancouver Island Cannabis Buyers’ Club. The club is an offshoot of a non-profit society registered with the province called Hempology 101. For Leon Smith of Hempology 101, the selling of marijuana and marijuana-based products – like foodstuffs and lotions through a buyers’ club for the ill – may be illegal, but he rejects it is criminal. Smith’s support for the selling of marijuana to the ill is not a secret. He told Victoria city coucil all about at a public meeting Nov. 14. “I’m not a criminal. I never felt I was a criminal,? he says of his support for the buyers’ club. “I’ve spoken in public about it. I’m confident I don’t have to hide it.? Marijuana buyers’ clubs are not new. They exist in other Canadian citis such as Vancouver and Toronto, and in numnerous American cities. When voters in California and Arizona went to the polls last month they said yes to a referendum question allowing legal access to marijuana for medical reasons. The passing of those referendums in the United States – especially in Arizona which has a reputation as being a conservative state- prompted the Vancouver island club to go public at a recent city council meeting. A police raid and the arrest of three people involved with what was called a marijuana “harm reduction club? in Vancouver Dec. 4 is not connected to clubs that claimthey sell marijuana for medical purposes, Vancouver police spokesperson Anne Drennan says. “That is a completely different game,? she says, adding Vancouver police are aware clubs exist that sell pot to the ill. “For themost part, they’re pretty low key.? “I’m not claiming marijuana cures anything,? Smith says of the philosophical push for access to marijuana for those who are ill. “It makes them deal with it better. It helps ease the pain for some people. “It’s not even for everybody, but it can help some people and that is what the clubs are about,? Smith explains. Of course the use of marijuana by the ill is common knowledge. But even though Dr. Derryck Smith, president of the B.C. Medical Association, acknoledges its use by the ill, that doesn’t mean the BCMA is on the front lines endorsing it. “It’s not an issue on the front burner for us,? Smith says on behalf ot the BCMA. “There have been some recorded uses (of marijuana) for this in the past and I understand there are some places in the United Staes where it is used.? For the most part the existence of the Vancouver Island club, and the existence of a pager number club “clients? can use to access marijuana products, has been by word of mouth up to this point. Pamphlets have been distributed, but the club operates on the principle that by staying low key and gearing itself towards those who are ill, there won’t be a public uproar to shut it down. Smith’s appearance before council Nov. 14 was to announce the club’s existence and invite council to last month’s meeting at the University of Victoria Nov. 15 which marked International Medical Marijuana day. victoria Mayor Bob Cross says he didn’t take up the invitation. Victoria police Chief Douglas Richardson says he hasn’t heard of the club. richardson says if marijuana is exchanging hands it is an illegal activity and his department would treat it as such, even if the club members claim to be doing it on compassionate grounds. “If they would get some sort of exemption from the criminal code becasue of health reasons then we would lay off, but the fact is it is an offence,? Richardson says. “It is a criminal offence and we would treat it as such,? the chief says about selling marijuana for any reason. Despite the legal hurdles at this pint, the dream of club supporters is to open a cafe where clients can get their products in public and provide a focal point for the operation. Smith says that is still on the drawing board. For now the club is run by a coalition of people. They say they have supllied about 100 people since first starting and have about two dozen regular customers. To become a client a person has to get a form signed by his or her doctor that says they do indeed suffer from an illness and that they have consulted about the use of marijuana. (Consulting does not mean that the doctors are prescribing marijuana. However, one version of the form does state the doctor who signs would prescribe the drug if it was legal to do so.) The forms come in four different versions – depending on the doctor’s view of marijuana use by patients. All the forms are kept on file and clients have to become members of the club to paticipate. At this point, Smith says the biggest single illness that brings people to the club is AIDS. However, the definition of chronic illness – the club sonsiders a valid reason to use marijuana – includes asthma and even back pain. “If somebody has a chronic medical lillness or chronic pain of any sort then that’s ratinale enough to help them,? Smith says. For now, the club’s activities may be illegal, but Smith sees the times changing and public support growing. “The legal change is a given,? he says. “It’s just a matter of time.?
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