[420 Girl]

Medicinal marijuana advocates on Vancouver Island believe new federal regulations announced this week on growing the controversial plants are "unacceptable."

Richard Payne, a member of the Mid-Island Compassion Society that set up in Nanaimo last year to provide medicinal marijuana, said the change in regulations that now allow designated medical marijuana producers to supply two approved users, instead of one, will not make it easier for the society to supply its 12 approved users in the region.

Philippe Lucas, executive-director of Victoria's Vancouver Island Compassion Club, said Health Canada's decision "borders on contempt of court."

"Courts have found the government's medicinal marijuana regulations unconstitutional in five cases over the past five years and I expect that, as a result of this new and inadequate policy, the government will find itself in court over the issue again very soon," Lucas said.

"Health Canada appears to be unable and unwilling to serve the needs of those who need it in this country."

The national medical cannabis program has been plagued with problems since its inception, with reports of contamination, low potency and inflated prices.

Health Canada has never been able to sell its cannabis, grown by Prairie Plant Systems of Flin Flon, Man., to more than 20% of all licensed medical users in Canada.

Each government-approved private grower has been limited in the number of plants they can grow as well as being limited to supplying the needs of no more than one approved user.

But in February, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg concluded the regulations were unconstitutional and gave Ottawa one year to fix them so compassion clubs or producers can get together and run a common marijuana-growing operation.

Payne said legal medicinal marijuana supplies under the government's stringent regulations are hard to connect with, and the ones who suffer are those who need it to deal with their medical conditions.

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