Canada Allows Terminally Ill to Smoke Marijuana

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Canada Allows Terminally Ill to Smoke Marijuana
July 30, 2001 12:58 pm EST

By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada became the first country in the world on Monday to allow terminally ill patients to grow and smoke their own marijuana, overriding protests from doctors who said the decision could put them in an awkward situation.

Until now, anyone in Canada wanting to smoke pot to alleviate their pain has had to apply to Health Minister Allan Rock for special permission. Some 300 have already done so.

But from Monday, anyone with a terminal illness who is expected to live less than a year will be allowed access to marijuana on the production of a doctor's certificate.

Others who will be able to benefit include those suffering serious pain from conditions such as multiple sclerosis, cancer, AIDS and epilepsy as well as severe forms of arthritis and spinal cord problems.

"This compassionate measure will improve the quality of life of sick Canadians, particularly those who are terminally ill," Rock said in a statement.

The Canadian move contrasts sharply with the situation in the United States, where the Supreme Court ruled in May that cannabis clubs could not legally distribute marijuana as a "medical necessity" for seriously ill patients.


The U.S. Justice Department questions marijuana's medical usefulness and maintains it must remain banned.

Marijuana is also prohibited in Canada and sufferers will need a permit to grow their own supply. Alternatively, they can designate someone else to do it for them or -- at some stage in the future -- buy it from the government. Last December, Ottawa awarded a $3.7 million contract to a company to grow federally approved marijuana in a former mine near the Manitoban town of Flin-Flon. The first pot for sale should be ready early next year.

Those patients granted permission to smoke marijuana for medical purposes will be allowed to possess a 30-day supply at any given time.

Canada's doctors have shown little enthusiasm for the idea, saying it will force them to decide whether patients should be allowed access to a substance that has no proven medicinal value.

"We are still disappointed the fundamental medical issues of quality, efficacy and patient safety have been ignored," the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) said in a statement.

"These regulations are placing Canadian physicians and their patients in the precarious position of attempting to access a product that has not gone through the normal protocols of rigorous pre-market testing."

The CMA said it feared patients might now conclude they could ask for marijuana to combat the symptoms of any condition and might even pressure their doctors to be given marijuana for recreational purposes.

Although Rock dismisses the idea that the new regulations will lead to the decriminalization of marijuana, there are signs the government's position is under some pressure.

Justice Minister Anne McLellan says she is open to debate on the issue while former Canadian prime minister Joe Clark, who leads the minority Conservative party, said in May he supported moves toward decriminalization of the drug.