Feds deal pot cheap Medical sales open door to abuse: Cops

By: Maria McClintock - Ottawa Bureau, The Toronto Sun, 07/10/03

OTTAWA -- The federal government is in the medicinal marijuana business and the pot is going for the bargain basement price of $5 gram -- $10 cheaper than it goes for on the street. It's a deal that police say will open the door to abuse by criminals -- a charge medicinal users say is bunk.

Health Canada insisted yesterday it wasn't trying to be competitive with the black market.

"What we did try to do is establish a price which is reasonable, based on costs associated with the production and implementation of the program," Health Canada spokesman Cindy Cripps-Prawak said.

IT'S TEMPORARY

Ottawa announced yesterday that its program was only temporary and that it will provide pot for medicinal use for those who can't grow the weed, as well as selling bags of 30 seeds for $20, until the outcome of its appeal of an Ontario court decision.

But Staff Sgt. Marc Pinault, head of the RCMP's marijuana grow operations section, said the cheap federal price is opening the door for abuse. "Are there people who are going to try and get around the rules in order to take advantage of that price? Yes, there are people who are going to try and do that," Pinault said.

An Ontario court ruled that the feds had until yesterday to come up with regulations for distributing medical marijuana.

Cripps-Prawak said the federal government is proceeding with its appeal of the Ontario ruling, which said it was unfair medicinal users had to turn to drug dealers for their stash, despite being authorized to use it for health reasons.