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--- Begin Message ---Pubdate: Mon, 06 Feb 2006 Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU) Webpage: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=06f93aff-5d40-403c-97ab-0f4ae20d185f Copyright: 2006 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc. Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274 Author: Dean Beeby, Canadian Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada)HEALTH CANADA BEING RIPPED OFF BY MEDICAL POT USERS Government Agency Sends Stern Letters In Bid To Recover $168,879 In Unpaid Bills (CP) Like any dope dealer, Health Canada has its share of marijuana customers who just don't pay their bills. But unlike street pushers, the department avoids tire irons and switchblades to recover its bad debts, in favour of stern letters and collection agencies. As of last month, 127 people authorized to buy government-certified marijuana for various medical problems were officially in arrears, with bills unpaid for more than 90 days. That's almost half the 278 patients who receive Health Canada marijuana or seeds, most of them buying 30-gram bags of ground buds for $150. A package of 30 seeds goes for $20. Altogether, patients in arrears now owe $168,879 to Health Canada for medical marijuana, produced on contract by Prairie Plant Systems Inc. for the federal government. The arrears amount has swollen by more than $100,000 over the past year alone, as department officials realized that their medical marijuana policy never indicated to patients the consequences of not paying their drug bills. Spokesperson Chris Williams says the patients now receive reminder letters and telephone calls from civil servants in the department's corporate services branch, and are given an opportunity to set up a repayment schedule. "If all that is rejected, the supply would be halted," he said. So far, 19 users have been cut off from further shipments because of non-payment. After 180 days, a final letter is sent and if no money arrives within 10 days, the matter is turned over to a collection agency, as would any other individual's stale account with Ottawa. One medical marijuana user and activist slammed the Health Department for requiring often-impoverished patients to buy the product, saying taxpayers have already footed the bill once. "The Canadian people have already paid for it - I think it's absolutely horrible that we're charging them twice," said Alison Myrden of Burlington, Ont., who has lived with multiple sclerosis for more than a decade. "We have no money as it is. Most of us are on full disability for life. It's a choice between marijuana or food for most of us." The first shipments of government pot in the fall of 2003 were of such poor quality that many medical users gagged, coughed and promptly returned the product. The batch was weak, dry, ground up too fine and included the less potent leaves and stems. In May 2004, a new batch was released, eliminating the stems and leaves. Made of flowering tops only, the new dope had a higher moisture content and stronger levels of THC, the main active ingredient, though the buds were still ground up to ensure consistency. Some users complained but others appeared to be content about the improved quality, though Myrden says the new batch still falls short of what's available on the street. She does not buy government dope. Prairie Plant Systems, which grows the weed in Flin Flon, Man., recently got a six-month extension of its $5.75-million contract with Health Canada, to June 30. The extension is worth another $670,000. The federal government plans to put out the next contract to tender later this year, though it's unclear how the entire medical marijuana program will fare under the new Tory government that will be sworn in today. Former Tory health critic Stephen Fletcher declined to comment when asked about the new government's policy. "I can't speak for the party any more on these issues until the leader picks the new health minister," he said. Health Canada is also trying to set up a pilot project that would allow regi stered users to buy government marijuana at pharmacies without a prescription. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom --^---------------------------------------------------------------- This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84Pze.cj3nmp.cm9hZHNl Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For Topica's complete suite of email marketing solutions visit: http://www.topica.com/?p=TEXFOOTER --^----------------------------------------------------------------
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