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Canadian AIDS Society Study Calls for Legalization of Compassion Clubs and Audit of Federal Medical Cannabis ProgramJune 14, 2006: A study released by the Canadian AIDS Society on Wednesday calls on federal Auditor General Sheila Fraser to conduct a performance audit of the federal medical cannabis program, and also recommends the legalization of compassion clubs as community-based medical cannabis dispensaries. According to the study, over 85% of those suffering from HIV/AIDS who use medical cannabis currently obtain it from the black-market; and despite federal government spending of over $6 million on a cannabis production facility located in a mine in Flin Flon, Manitoba, less than 200 Canadians are currently accessing their medicine from Health Canada. The study, which was funded by Public Health Agency of Canada, also recommends the legalization of compassion clubs, which currently help over 10,000 critically and chronically ill Canadians gain access to a safe source of cannabis and cannabis-based therapies. "This study is the most intensive federally-funded review of Canada's medical cannabis policy to date, and as we can see, Health Canada's Medical Marijuana Access Division gets a failing grade from CAS", said Philippe Lucas, founder of Canadians for Safe Access and member of the Steering Committee of the CAS study. "I have serious concern about a program that's costing Canadian taxpayers millions of dollars every year, while still leaving so many of our sick and suffering citizens vulnerable to arrest and prosecution. We need an immediate review of our federal program and medical cannabis policy, and the CSA calls on Health Canada to initiate a dialogue with compassion clubs in order to develop regulations based on their current operational standards that would protect these organizations and the 10,000+ medical cannabis users they serve." With over 200 members and the support of over 30 local and national organizations, Canadians for Safe Access (www.safeaccess.ca) is the nation's largest medical cannabis patients' rights group. For more information on the CAS "Cannabis as Therapy" study, please go to: www.cdnaids.ca/web/casmisc.nsf/pages/cas-gen-0112 Contacts:
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