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Compassion club fed-up with bureaucracy
By Hempology | October 4, 2007
The Record, ON
03 Oct 2007
CLUB HEAD WANTS QUEBEC TO RUN MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACCESS PLAN
The founder of the Montreal Compassion Club wants Quebec to take over the administration of the federal Medical Marijuana Access program in the province.
Marc-Boris St-Maurice said yesterday the program is “an embarrassing oxymoron.”
He complained about major delays processing applications, licence renewals and changes of address.
“Eighteen months ago we requested a supply of application forms for our clients which we still have not received,” he said. “There are also frequent disturbing reports of doctors being pressured by Health Canada bureaucrats to reduce their patients’ recommended daily dosage.”
St-Maurice wants Quebec Health Minister Philippe Couillard to intervene and hopes to meet with provincial Health Department officials in the coming weeks.
“The field of health is a provincial jurisdiction and we believe that it would be more appropriate if this program was managed by our province instead of Ottawa,” St-Maurice said.
Couillard said yesterday although he’s not against the idea it’s too soon to say whether the Quebec government should be in charge of medical marijuana in the province.
He added that he first wants to see the scientific evidence that its use is beneficial and therapeutic.
“I want to make sure that it’s necessary and that there are no other options and that it’s the only solution.”
St-Maurice made his comments at a news conference where he opened a new storefront location for the Montreal Compassion Club.
The dispensary sells medical marijuana to those who suffer from illnesses like cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and HIV-AIDS.
The club first opened in 1999 but was shut down a year later when St-Maurice was arrested. It reopened in 2003 after St-Maurice was acquitted of marijuana trafficking.
He said the new location, which has a dispensing counter displaying various types of marijuana, is more spacious and is wheelchair-accessible.
He said about 10 per cent of the club’s 1,000 members have licences from the federal government authorizing them to buy medical marijuana and others have their doctor’s authorization.
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