Do citizens have to go unmedicated and untreated to avoid becoming criminals in our country?

An outstanding Canadian citizen was put through scrutiny to ensure the legality of his medication- medical marijuana.

Robin Hove, a Regina resident recently awarded the Chief Commendation Award for saving a man from a machete attack, has been put through a scrutinizing process in an attempt to stay within the legal aspects of his medication. The grey areas and extensive delays in Health Canada’s Medical Marihuana Access Program are resulting in stressful, tedious situations for thousands of citizens seeking a natural medication.

Robin Hove came across Medical Marihuana after it was recommended to him by a friend.  Rob lives with PTSD (Post traumatic Stress Disorder) from a work related incident and at this time he was also suffering from countless undesired side effects from medications he was prescribed to treat the condition. Because of the severity of the condition and the side effects, years passed with Rob rarely leaving his home. He was very skeptical about everything, including medical marihuana.  However, once he tried this natural remedy his opinion changed as his life began to improve. Marihuana has since replaced 12 of Rob’s other medications and continues to astonish his doctors.

The stress and difficulties of Robs treatment are no longer found in any undesired side effects. Instead they are found in the difficulty of acquiring medical coverage (ex. Workers’ Compensation Board) due to marijuana being a schedule 1 drug and in the delays within the program that potentially jeopardize the legal aspects of Robs medication and thus his quality of life.

Health Canada recommends mailing the renewal forms 8 weeks in advance to allow proper processing time. Robin Hove has had his license for medical marihuana since November 2009.When renewal time came in 2010, Rob mailed his renewal forms 12 weeks early to ensure his crops would be safe from criminal consequence and that he could continue his treatment legally. Horror stories of DEA raids in medical grow operations only days after their licenses expired urged Rob to be extra punctual in mailing his paperwork. His punctuality however, seemed be of no help in his license being processed on time. A week before his license expired, Rob had still heard nothing regarding it.

Rob called Health Canada everyday and received only answering machines guaranteeing call backs that never happened. When Rob did finally get to speak to someone at Health Canada(Drugs Strategies Division) he expressed his concern about the paperwork and the legalities of his medication and grow location. The reply was both surprising and shocking for him. Rob was not re assured that the paperwork would be filed on time nor that he would have any legal security in his form of medication. Instead, Rob was instructed by Health Canada’s Drug Strategies Division to simply be ‘discreet’ about his medical marihuana use and grow operation until they caught up on their processing time.

Rob felt as though this was another way of instructing him to incriminate himself and hope for the best.

November 2, 2010 Robin Hove entered the Regina Police Headquarters with a unique request. His license was about to expire, but he still had enough homegrown medical marihuana for another month’s prescription. He hadn’t yet received his paperwork and decided against incriminating himself by possessing his herbs without proper paperwork on hand. He didn’t want any scrutiny from the police nor did he want to throw out his top quality medicine that he’d already harvested and decided to risk the effects of going unmedicated or medicated differently. As he explained his request, the police officers assisting him showed no hesitation in storing his medical marijuana while he waited on Health Canada.

Rob suffered from severe pain, muscle spasms, insomnia, anxiety, depression and nausea while waiting. He lost so much weight in fact, that he has recently been instructed that he must gain at least 15lbs or more durastic measures will have to be taken to ensure that he does. Everyday seemed like years, and his quality of life temporarily plummeted. Day after day, the waiting game continued.

It wasn’t until 4 weeks after his license expired that most of his paperwork finally arrived-everything but the hard copy license, making him legal but forcing him to carry an oversized paper around in the meantime to prove it.

Rob picked up his medical marihuana from the Police Station, relieved to finally have his legal papers. He’d lost a lot of weight and suffered through what seemed like endless nights, solely due to the arbitrary process that results from Canadian drug laws and unnecessary delays in the program provided.

This is happening across the country.  Many citizens are being forced to choose between discreetly incriminating themselves to continue their doctor’s prescribed medication or risking going unmedicated with the effects being as extreme as death to stay legal due to today’s drug laws and processing delays in the program.

Despite the success in Robs treatment with marihuana, his doctors support, his punctuality in regards to mailing his renewal forms and his contributions to society since treatment began (Chief Commendation Award), this Canadian citizen is being  forced to choose between his  health and abiding by a law that  hinders his quality of life.

Canadian drug laws as they currently stand are not updated with medical research and programs of today. Situations like Robs make it apparent that change is long past due and becoming more urgent everyday.

Marihuana’s classification as a schedule 2 drug is resulting in these situations.

This is a huge problem that is resulting is citizens suffering with their health and quality of life. As Canadians it is our responsibility to ensure that we are all taken care of- and so to avoid these horrible situation replaying as they have been for years, we must reanalyze our current drug laws to ensure they are truly protecting the people, and not jeopardizing their quality of life.

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Read more about Rob’s story @ SaskatchewanCruelty.com

Rob & WCB

Rob awarded by Regina Police

Marijuana questions answered in Saskatchewan- Canada’s capital for MJ information

The Canadian Government created a program over 10 years ago that allows citizens to grow, possess and use marijuana for medical reasons but has neglected to provide information regarding the eligibility or application process within the program. Over the last few years however, doctors and citizens have been flooding HeadShopCanadas’ Headquarters- Head 2 Head in Regina, Saskatchewan in search of this valuable information. Word of mouth has directed countless Canadians of all walks of life and medical practitioners to this little shop in North Central Regina in search of factual information regarding marijuana. The knowledge is spreading like a butterfly effect across the country as the number of licensed growers and marijuana users continues to rise; the war on marijuana will soon be over.

Canada’s Marijuana Specialty Store, Head2Head is very unique in the services offered out of this newly renovated shop. As marijuana consultants, the crew informs Canadians on their eligibility to use and grow marijuana legally. They help guide citizens step by step through the filing process as well as guidelines on approaching their doctor in an informed manner. This crew believes in educating the public about the legal avenues of using this herb- which, according to current research at the shop, most people use for legitimate reasons anyway. By leaving the public uninformed that they can be growing and using marijuana legally, the result is incarceration of gardeners, legitimate medical users and otherwise innocent people. It is costing the Canadian government thousands of tax dollars to bust these innocent people and is taking away from dealing with violent crimes and criminals that are a far greater threat in our country.

Being located in the middle of North Central Regina, voted highest crime rate and most dangerous place in Canada by Maclean’s magazine, it’s very important to help everyone that enters Head2Head to better understand the legal avenues of using their medicine.  Majority of marijuana users prove to have a legitimate reason for using it, be it for anxiety, pain management, eating or sleep trouble, but many of them are simply uninformed that they are qualified to be legal users.  They are under the impression in fact, that marijuana use is illegal. The crew at the shop explain that this is merely perspective. For example, similar to marijuana use, driving can be considered illegal, unless of course you get your government issued license, and then it becomes legal. That is also to say then that similar to driving, marijuana use is legal, unless of course, you don’t have a federal license and it then becomes illegal. Understanding this perspective and recognizing the benefits of the marijuana program encourages legitimate users to get their licenses, decreasing the crime rates in locations like the North central community.

Watching people come and go from this newly expanded shop, it would be almost impossible to guess what kind of shop it could be based on the clientele alone. Drawing in such a variety of personalities, ages and uniforms, the only hint as to what these folks may have in common is the cannabis leaf print painted across the front of Head 2 Head. The marijuana culture is not limited by age, race or occupation. It includes everyone from the homeless guy that can hardly speak a comprehensible sentence to a doctor with an I.Q of a genius. Marijuana’s medical uses are undeniable and as Canadians become more educated, thousands of citizens are joining the culture through the medical community at Head 2 Head.  Conditions like epilepsy, juvenile arthritis and cancer remind us that disease is not restricted to age groups, and luckily, doctors are beginning to realize that marijuana is sometimes the safest treatment option available.

Head 2 Head Novelties, located in Regina, is more than your average weed shop. This is a place where people can learn about medical marijuana and learn about safe legal ways to access it, where all walks of life come together to share their one common interest-marijuana. This information is not limited to the geographical location of Head2Head either. HSC continues to provide updates of the progress of this promising plant via the World Wide Web and will continue to post these valuable facts until the whole world is informed. Despite the lack of information resources provided from our federal government regarding this program, Canadians continue to look out for fellow citizens, educating each other about what they have learned. Word of mouth continues to spread and this senseless war on marijuana will soon be conquered by majority- MJ users, growers and supporters.

Spread the knowledge, get informed, and  see the benefits of this decade-old government program as it truly begins to flourish in 2011.

Recommended Links:

MJ Forms explained-How to apply

How to get legal

He is currently licensed to grow up to 15 plants for distribution to the patient. Because of the nature of the product, Selenski said he has taken numerous security measures to protect the operation, including cameras, alarms, guard dogs and a tall chain link fence.

“I’m a small jail here,” he said.

Even so, when he tried to have the equipment needed for the grow operation insured for about $3,000, he was told by his primary insurer to dismantle the operation within 30 days or risk losing his insurance on his shop and home as well, he said.

“And that’s on my house, store, everything,” said Selenski. “There’s $120,000 worth of equity in my life that I’ve built up. Just to throw away for 10 plants, it wasn’t worth it.”

That insurance company, Saskatchewan Mutual Insurance Co., did not provide an immediate response Wednesday, with media inquiries being forwarded to head office for reply.

After being refused by that company, Selenski said he took his request to 11 other companies, all of which similarly refused to insure the grow operation.

One of those companies was Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), he said.

SGI spokesperson Barbara Cross said in general they don’t cover marijuana grow operations at this time, even if it is a licensed operation, because it is considered too high-risk.

“It’s a controlled substance,” she said. “There can be implications for overloads on the electrical system of the building. There can be increased humidity and possibly mold considerations … We don’t tend to insure unusual or high-risk situations as an insurance company. Ours tend to be more ordinary types of coverage situations.”

Cross said there are some insurance companies that do take on unusual or higher-risk situations, though she did not know if licensed marijuana grow operations were among the situations those companies might insure.

Because of the insurance problems, Selenski dismantled his grow operation last week, cutting down and getting rid of the plants.

“I try to keep squeaky clean legally because I don’t want to lose my shop,” he said.

But he added it may mean his customer will be left without much marijuana until Selenski can get to B.C., where he plans to move and set up a new grow operation for the use of the Regina patient.

Currently, people suffering from illnesses such as cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis can apply to Health Canada to possess marijuana for medical purposes.

December 8, 2005

source for story http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=ca363274-21bd-4c01-84b5-f44ea52b5df6

Why is it important to stop this? Here is a good reason.

The 1994 RAND study on controlling cocaine provides a powerful argument for increasing U.S. drug treatment programs.It is often cited in the debate on the effectiveness of the “drug war.” This study depicts both past and future trends in cocaine consumption. It also provides the first systematic method of comparing the cost effectiveness of cocaine control programs. The RAND study is a “modeling study”: it analyzes the data of other organizations. The study revolves around the central question of how the government can effectively allocate the drug budget. It presents a model that estimates the relative cost-effectiveness of four cocaine-control programs: “source control,” “interdiction,” “domestic law enforcement,” and “treatment.”

Three of these approaches are clearly “supply control” programs aimed at stopping the influx of drugs into the country, and commonly associated with law enforcement. The “source-control” program refers to the strategy of attacking the drug supply from abroad (primarily Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia). The “interdiction” approach is aimed at stopping drugs at the U.S. border. The “domestic law enforcement” approach is geared towards the arrest and imprisonment of drug buyers and sellers within the United States. These law enforcement approaches were analyzed and compared to the treatment approach, and the question is asked: “How much would the government have to spend on each approach to decrease cocaine consumption in the U.S. by 1%?” The results show that treatment is overwhelmingly the most cost-effective way of reducing cocaine consumption and its resulting social costs. In brief, the RAND study shows that treatment is 7 times more cost effective than domestic law enforcement method, 10 times more effective than interdiction, and 23 times more effective than the “source control” method.

by C. Peter Rydell and Susan S. Everingham
RAND Corporation, 1994

sourced from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/buyers/doitwork.html

Everyone can do their part! Like this heroic man Tim Selenski.