ACCEPTANCE GROWS FOR MEDICAL POT

In 1999, then mayor Brian Taylor declared that he would like Grand Forks to become the medical marijuana distribution capital of Canada.  On June 18, he came one step closer to that goal. 

Taylor, editor of the Cannabis Health Journal and a licensed grower of medical marijuana, has sent a shipment through Canada Post to an Ontario patient, Michel Aube.  Aube suffers from chronic back pain caused by a fall from a cliff sustained on the job while working as a seismologist.  He turns to Taylor for marijuana because Ontario's provincial drug plan will not cover the expense.  Right now, he has a eight-month agreement with Taylor who supplies the drug as part of a research project he is conducting. 

Aube says marijuana is much more effective than the morphine he usually takes for pain relief. 

"With morphine I'm always tired, I have trouble concentrating, I can't do anything, but with marijuana, it's completely the opposite," he says. 

Taylor brought the package and its contents to the attention of Canada Post because a package went missing in transit.  Another package sent by courier arrived a week late.  Aube says this was frustrating because as the addressee he could not inquire about the package.  Information is only given to the sender. 

"I've had to go on and off of morphine a couple times already," he says.  "It's not a party, I can tell you."

Taylor says private couriers will not ship marijuana.  One of the reasons they gave him is that many shipments are routed through the United States where they can be subject to inspection by customs or drug enforcement officials.  Taylor says it is important to be able to ship medical marijuana openly in order to ensure that suppliers and patients have the cooperation of the post office. 

"We just want to make sure that marijuana patients have the same rights as others," he says. 

Aube agrees that it is important for people to be open about how marijuana is distributed. 

"I want to get this cleared up so that people who can't necessarily get their marijuana supplied from Health Canada are able to go other places to get it," he says. 

Taylor says he ha kept in close touch with the RCMP over the years and has never had any difficulties locally with his licensed operation. 

John Caines, national media relations manager for Canada Post, says the organization has met with Health Canada and it is able to ship marijuana strictly for medical reasons only. 

Caines cautions that marijuana is still an illegal substance for all other purposes in Canada.  He says Taylor has been advised of regulations regarding the handling of medical marijuana.