Amid a flurry of headlines and soundbites, Health Minister Allan Rock recently announced plans for clinical trials of the efficacy of marijuana in alleviating pain in the terminally ill. This was more than a year after he and Justice Minister Anne McLellan promised a national debate on the issue. To be fair, they didn't say when, but pressure has mounted in the meantime.
Public opinion remains divided, sometimes hysterical and often ill-informed.
Even though I'm vehemently anti-tobacco, this always has struck me as hypocritical, considering that nicotine, although legal, is far more addictive. But that's another debate. This has to do with the fact there are people in Canada suffering from terminal illnesses who have symptoms that are very difficult and who believe it can help. A short while later, RCMP raided a home in Ottawa, seizing 178 marijuana plants and related hydroponic gear. They also arrested a man who had openly provided affordable marijuana to a network of AIDS and cancer patients.