Re: ‘Police say dispensary is illegal,’ Jan. 20 edition of The NEWS.
Indeed, cannabis dispensaries are illegal. Unfortunately, this is a bad law that causes a great deal of suffering.
We have a court-ordered program in Canada to provide access to medical cannabis, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government is not supportive of cannabis as medicine and has created a program that is cumbersome, with many time delays, at best, and completely unworkable at worst.
A personal story might help the readers who have not been exposed to the issue to understand the need for this service. After writing a letter to the editor in support of cannabis issues, I received a phone call from an elderly Nanaimo man. He recounted his story of his wife’s struggle with breast cancer and how the chemotherapy drugs had a devastating affect on her joints.
She was in constant, extreme pain, and cannabis was the only thing that would alleviate this pain. He asked about a source for medical-grade cannabis and I referred him to Phoenix in Nanaimo.
Perhaps a week later, I got another call from this man. He sounded happy and relieved and offered me thanks for taking a great deal of pain away from his family. He had gone to Phoenix, got the medicine his wife needed and she was doing much better. The entire family benefited, because those who care about the patient also feel the pain.
Phoenix provided immediate access to the medicine required, as well as knowledgable advice.
The patient was enabled to take pleasure in life again. Is this not a worthy service? Shouldn’t our police resources be used to deal with real crimes that make our streets unsafe?
Glenda Barr
Lantzville