Marijuana is not touted as a cure for disease, but it seems to have a remarkable ability to alleviate symptoms, especially pain. And unlike other prescribed pharmaceuticals there are few, if any, side effects.

Compassion Clubs are places where people can obtain marijuana as medicine. They began sprouting up in urban centers across North America as a response especially to the AIDS epidemic, as it was found that marijuana helped reduce pain and increased appetite, which was a life-saver for some people with HIV. Since then pot has been used for many other medical conditions.
About nine years years ago, the Canadian government was forced by a judgment in an Ontario court to make marijuana available to individuals for medical reasons. The system put in place requires patients to first obtain approval from their doctor. Today, only 3,000 people across the country have this authorization. This entitles them to grow the plant themselves, find a designated grower, or obtain it directly from the Canadian government, which has a system of authorized growers.
Getting a doctor's authorization is not easy, as can be attested by the low numbers of licensees. The Canadian Medical Association does not support the medical marijuana program.
“Archie”, (not his real name) who helps run the Compassion Club says that there is not a single doctor on Vancouver Island who has prescribed medical marijuana for a patient- “Before they say they will sign on, they want you to take all the other shit first (pharmaceuticals), and then when that doesn't work, they still won't sign, so you have to go to another doctor and start all over again.”
The medical establishment, it seems is not ready to get behind this kind of treatment.
And yet the need is there. Hence, the Comox Valley's very own Compassion Club.
The Club is a safe place where people can go to obtain the medicine they need, where the quality is consistently high. New members are required to prove that they have a medical condition, and confirm their identity.
The club offers a wide variety of products because people have different needs, and ways of absorbing the medicine.
There are five to six varieties of marijuana, and one of hash all locally grown. After awhile one's body becomes inured to the effects of a certain variety, and the user needs to change to another.
For those who prefer not to smoke it, there are cookies made with recipes from the Victoria Compassion Club. There are even BISC Buddies for pets.
The drug can be taken with a vaporizer, and there are several varieties for sale. There is also massage oil- just like a nicotine patch, it can work through the skin, and cooking oil.
Still, it's not cheap- Archie says- “We buy it at market prices, and there is a small markup. It is expensive because of the risks everyone takes. Which is crazy- it's a bloody weed!”
The Compassion Club is a registered provincial society, but it operates in a legal grey area, tolerated by authorities, but because it is not explicitly legal, vulnerable to being swept away should political winds blow from more repressive directions.
If the current system is working, why draw attention to it, and face the risk of
provoking the authorities?
Archie says- “Part of the the club's mandate is to inform and educate about the therapeutic and medicinal effects of marijuana.”
To help make the point, the WORD met with three of the Club's members, who each have significant heath problems which are dramatically improved by marijuana, and marijuana alone.
Chuck is the scientific maven of the group, steeped in detailed information on marijuana's unusual health benefits. He says- “I tried marijuana in the early 60's, got paranoid and lost interest. The I read an article in Readers' Digest Magazine on marijuana which got my curiosity going- I've always been interested in longevity. A 2002 Scientific American article proves it alleviates pain and anxiety, and can prevent the death of injured neurons.
I was married to a woman who had diabetes- diabetic neuropathy, bad abdominal pain. After a couple of doobies, her face was flushed, laughing, compared with her previous grey countenance, and there were no side effects.
Eventually Chuck began smoking marijuana for the relief of pain from his own arthritis-
“The doctor says you don't die from arthritis, but you will die from inactivity. I tried morphine, codeine, OxyContin, all had impairing side effects. Now I can smoke marijuana and get on my bike- the more pot I have the further I can go. It produces the same chemicals as when you exercise. It dilates smooth muscle and blood vessels- it's good for bronchitis, asthma, stomach cramps, and facilitates healing.”
Although he needs the drug to function normally, he has been hassled by the police- “I've had busts by cops- they cleaned me out. Didn't care they took away my pain medication.”
Karen testifies- “I'm just a middle-aged mom grateful that I have a good organic clean source of marijuana- I don't want to go down to the bridge or skate park to buy it.
When I was thirty-two I got lupus- my body fell apart. The disease eats itself alive, and there's lots of pain. I took morphine and went to sleep- spent a lot of my life in bed.
I still like to smoke it, when I have pain- my disease is a cartilage wrecker in the hips and shoulders. I can have a toke and it will be okay, which lets me function as an artist.”
The pharmaceutical industry has created a synthetic THC product- Cesamet which some doctors prescribe. Two problems with this drug are its expense- when Chuck took it three times a day it cost $6.00 for each pill. It did help reduce pain, but the effect was tough to fine tune- “It was too much- it knocks you out.” Meanwhile, people who smoke marijuana are able to stop when they achieve a desired effect.
Bill says “I would rather eat cannabis than smoke it. And it helps people quit smoking.”
Bill has osteo and rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, in part as a result of a congenital condition.
He adds - “There is so much need out there for people who wouldn't be caught dead in (a Compassion Club). It's great for seniors. I knew a guy in his 80's with glaucoma who started eating cookies, and was seeing better- it reduces ocular pressure.”
Chuck, always informative, says that THX has no lethal dose. He adds- “Ask any cop where they would rather go- a domestic dispute with marijuana or alcohol.” Point taken.
As the population ages, many more of us may become interested in the medicinal uses of a plant which some of us may have experimented with, and left behind as we got on with our lives. If this happens, then the issue of legality will need to be examined anew. Should the boomer generation get hold of this, laws will change and this is precisely what the members of the club are aiming for- legalization. For them, it is simple- the plant works, it's less dangerous than just about everything else out there, and it's nuts to keep it out of the hands of people who need it.
The Compassion Club is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1 to 6 pm. For more information, check out the community event at the Filberg:
CANNABIS FOR HEALTH
Health Canada grants access to marihuana for medical use to those who are suffering from grave and debilitating illnesses.” Since the program covers less than 10% of eligible people, many use compassion clubs and friends to secure good, clean cannabis.
Sunday April 25, 1 – 4 pm, Florence Filberg Centre
Courtenay, BC
Learn about the therapeutic and medicinal uses of this wonderful plant that is an integral part of human evolution dating back millenia. Although smoking is the preferred method for immediate relief, there are many other ways to use cannabis as edibles, oils, salves, & balms
Sponsored by North Island Compassion Club 250 871 5207