Smells like new-age spirit

>> The race is on to become the federal government's official marijuana supplier

by STÉPHANE LANDRY

As of the deadline date of June 28, 262 individuals and corporations requested application forms to become the Canadian government's official marijuana grower and distributor.

The winner of the $5-million, five-year contract will be announced this fall, and will be expected to produce 85 kilograms of marijuana in the first year alone. They will also handle the production of 100,000 marijuana cigarettes that will then be distributed to those permitted to smoke it for medicinal purposes.

The Mirror asked several Montrealers involved in the marijuana milieu if there's a clear front-runner for the government grow-op, and to solicit their remarks on this new tolerance towards therapeutic dope in Canadian society.

Caroline Doyer of Montreal's now-busted Compassion Club, which distributed pot to those with major illnesses such as AIDS or cancer, says she's cautiously optimistic.

"I'm glad Health Canada received so many requests, but I hope a college or university wins the contract and not a huge corporation. I believe a school would disseminate more accurate information about marijuana."

Doyer is concerned that if a pharmaceutical company got the contract it might lead to pot impurities. "I don't want to see any chemicals getting added to the marijuana," she says.

Bloc-Pot founder, Boris St-Maurice, says the government's plans are merely a smoke-screen.

"The real debate has yet to happen," he told the Mirror from Vancouver, where he is currently organizing the new Marijuana Party. St-Maurice says the real issue is legalization.

"I believe Health Canada already has someone in mind to grow the pot," St-Maurice says, adding that this makes the application process a bit of a joke.

But he does believe Canada is making some progress, even though it's been a long time coming. "This should have been done long ago. Sick people have been suffering--where's the compassion in that?" But he is quick to add, "It could be worse, we could be in the States."

No McDope

There was a minor kerfuffle when the the McGill University Health Centre Pain Clinic's name was published on a government Web site as one of the bidders to grow government dope.

"We asked for an application form so that we could see what the government was looking for in terms of concentration of THC and other cannibinoids. We--and many other hospitals around the country--are interested in testing it, and knowing that information would help us plan for that," says Dr. Mark Ware, a research associate at the clinic. "But McGill does not and never had any plans to grow marijuana."

Ware says that, after a May 27 article in the Gazette which said that McGill's Health Centre was vying to become "Canada's official marijuana pusher," Macdonald campus started getting calls from people inquiring about where and when the weed would be grown.

"We really wished that this whole story had never been raised," sighs Ware, who agrees that the scenario of dope-hungry yobs trampling experimental crops at McGill's Macdonald campus was not a pleasant one.

In fact, while several college- and university-affiliated institutions have submitted requests, they don't plan on growing marijuana on site, due to the need for security cameras, barbed-wire fences and infrared sensors to constantly guard against those who might come knocking in the middle of the night.

The government's criteria for weed growing are outlined in a 60-page official application document named: "To develop a comprehensive operation for the cultivation and fabrication of marijuana in Canada."

In the document, the emphasis is put on providing a secure environment for the weed, coming up with the money to start the project and ensuring that everyone involved in growing the product has been without a criminal record for at least 15 years.

But although it's anyone's guess who will grow Canadian Gold, a whole slew of people suffering from diseases such as cancer, glaucoma and AIDS will be able to alleviate their pain without the societal and judicial stigma attached to buying and consuming an illegal drug.

"My mother suffers from a rare and painful bone disease," says Natacha Helf, a psychology student at Université de Montréal. "She's been reluctant to try marijuana. Maybe this first step will help convince her that pot is not a bad drug." :

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