Open Letter to Health Canada, the Canadian Medical Association, and the Press

July 23, 2003 - "By making false claims regarding the state of research into the safety and efficacy of therapeutic cannabis, Health Canada and the CMA have mislead Canadians and have lost all credibility on the subject", says Philippe Lucas, acting-Director of Canadians for Safe Access, a non-profit, cannabis patients-rights organization.

Over the last few weeks, Health Minister McLellan and the Dr. Dana Hanson, President of the CMA have both stated without reservation that cannabis has never been studied for safety and efficacy anywhere in the world. In fact, cannabis has over 3000 years of recorded use, and is one of the most researched therapeutic agents known to man.

Canadians for Safe Access have gathered some of the most recent and relevant studies attesting to the safety and efficacy of medicinal cannabis. This research includes major government-funded investigations as well as published and peer-reviewed studies, including 23 studies suggesting that cannabis may have powerful anti-carcinogenic and anti-tumourific properties. This recognized international research can be found at: www.safeaccess.ca/research

We urge the Canadian press to push Health Canada and the CMA to either denounce this large body of evidence, or to accept it and change their misguided policies to reflect the benign nature of this incredibly safe and versatile natural herb.

Yesterday, Health Canada further damaged its credibility by releasing it's misinformed and misleading cannabis monograph to physicians. Therapeutic cannabis use and distribution standards should be left to those who have actual experience with this plant: Canada's network of legitimate users, cultivators, and distributors. We invite Health Canada, The CMA, the press and the public to examine a set of standards devised by the British Columbia Compassion Club Society - Canada's oldest and largest distributor of medicinal cannabis. These comprehensive standards address the safe use, cultivation, and distribution of medicinal cannabis: http://thecompassionclub.org/club/standardsapr30.pdf .

Canadians overwhelmingly support the distribution of therapeutic cannabis and the good work done by Canada's compassion societies, which are currently doing more research and helping more Canadians than Health Canada's unworkable and expensive program. After 4 years and nearly $10 million of wasted taxpayer money, it's time for Health Canada to leave the distribution of medicinal cannabis to the non-profit societies that have done it so well for so long.