February 1, 1999
Dear Member of Parliament
I am writing concerning a motion (M-381) aimed at legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. A Commons subcommittee will decide Wednesday (February 3) if it meets the criteria to go to a vote by MPs.
I am involved in the Universal Compassion Club that is opening in Calgary, Alberta with Grant Krieger as acting director. Our aim is to conduct research into the effects of various strains on various illness, etc. and to provide and distribute medicinal cannabis to the sick across Canada. We are in the process of setting up: quality and price controls, distribution, and a website to refer doctors. patients, caregivers, politicians, family members, etc.,to, for forms or health-related information.
It is unfortunate that citizens like us must risk losing their freedom to provide this service for our ill - but the rewards of helping many find relief far outweigh the consequences. Ask Hilary Black at http://www.thecompassionclub.org or Lynn Harichy at http://www.worlddrive.com/~artemis/LCCC/main.htm or MMRC http://www.interlog.com/~thcdom/mmrc.htm While our club is not officially functioning yet, the first several people to contact us were elderly persons, who have never used cannabis before, but are not finding relief in the medications they are using. Many who saw David Suzuki on the "Nature of Things" episode that featured medicinal cannabis are looking for a club that will supply them or their loved ones with this alternative medicine.
The number of people who use cannabis as medicine will continue to rise and the government must protect the health of citizens by insuring quality control measures are in place. I urge all representatives to support the legalization of medicinal cannabis as polls indicate 83 % of Canadians support this measure.
Not one death has been attributed to cannabis in over 5,000 years of recorded use, and if you know of another medicine that can make that claim please forward to me for our research. So can we assume that the only risk at this point to ingesting or possessing cannabis is with the laws regarding its use, which you have the ability to change. Perhaps you can help end the hypocrisy. Please do.
Regards
Debra Harper
Universal Compassion Club
|
|