This week I had the opportunity to listen to Andrew Wilkinson, BC Liberal MLA   
   for Vancouver-Quilchena, during a question and answer period. He is both a LLB   
   and a MD. When asked about medical marijuana he replied,    
      
   "The Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Pharmacists Association and   
   the National Research Council have all stated that marijuana has no medicinal   
   properties. They have also indicated that in their opinion there are only two   
   instances where the    
   substance might have some justifiable use because it may distract a person's   
   mind away from their illness. These two instances are: 1) a person wasting   
   away in the advanced stages of HIV Aids, and 2) a person near death with   
   cancer for whom radiation no    
   longer has any effect."   
      
   In Canada the procedure for obtaining a Drug Identification Number (DIN) takes   
   about 9 months. Candidate pharmaceuticals must at a minimum present 3 binders   
   of information. One deals with a chemical analysis of the substance, another   
   the results of tests    
   on animals and the third, the results of tests on humans. Many products are   
   rejected.   
      
   Marijuana did not have to prove that it was a pharmaceutical to Health Canada.   
   The whole DIN procedure was short circuited by the federal Minister of Health.   
   Marijuana was simply declared a medicine.   
      
   JL 29-11-2014   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)