CANADIANS FOR SAFE ACCESS
 
OCTOBER 2, 2003  - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

***Health Canada's Dirty Little Secret***

Anne McLellan's Contaminated Medical Marijuana Grown in One of Canada's Most
Polluted Regions

For more information, please contact access@safeaccess.ca or Philippe Lucas at
(250) 884-9821

Despite an independent test by Canadians for Safe Access (www.safeaccess.ca) --
indicating elevated levels of heavy metals such as arsenic and lead [1] in
Health Canada cannabis cultivated in an abandoned copper and zinc mine in Flin
Flon Manitoba by Prairie Plant Systems (PPS) - neither Health Canada, nor PPS,
has acted to reassure Canadians that this product is indeed safe.
 
When repeated calls to PPS went unreturned, CSA conducted research to assess the
possible cause of such heavy metal contamination.  CSA was shocked to learn that
due to extensive mining and smelting that has taken place in the region over the
last 80 years, Flin Flon is considered one of the most environmentally
contaminated regions of Canada.  According to Carol Ptacek, a researcher with
Environment Canada's National Water Resource Institute, water near an abandoned
mine located outside of Flin Flon Manitoba has some of the highest levels of
metal contamination in Canada, if not the world.  "It's like battery acid,
basically -- maybe not quite as strong", stated Ptacek. [2]

Furthermore, elevated levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium, and copper have long
been detected in soil up to 75 km from the site of the former smelter. [3]
According to MineWatch Canada, "the sheer size of the contaminated area in Flin
Flon makes it impossible to remediate. In particular, there is a large volume of
tailings that blow in the wind, and the metal content (copper, cadmium and lead)
makes it difficult for vegetation to establish. Community concerns have
historically not been adequately addressed, and much information, including that
collected by Health Canada (e.g., toxic metal levels in blueberries) has not
been made available to the residents of Flin Flon." [4]

From a Manitoba Conservation report: "Air pollution at Flin Flon near Hudson Bay
Mining and Smelting continues to exceed provincial air quality objectives, with
no noticeable changes from previous patternsÉRecords also show that, in Flin
Flon, levels of particulates, and concentrations of lead and arsenic, sometimes
exceed provincial objectives and guidelines." [5]
 
A past interview conducted with PPS President Brent Zettl indicates that the
water source used by PPS is drawn from a nearby lake, and that the growing
medium for the cannabis is enriched local outdoor soil. [6]  If this is the
case, this could well be the source of the reported contamination.
  
Philippe Lucas, Director of Canadians for Safe Access and a legal user of
therapeutic cannabis, feels that Canadians deserve immediate answers to the
following four questions: 1) Was Health Canada aware that it was cultivating
medicine in one of Canada's most contaminated regions? 2) Has PPS carried out
regular heavy metal and radon [7] testing of its product, soil and water
throughout the 3+ years that it has been growing cannabis in this mine? 3) If
these tests were conducted, have they ever indicated elevated levels of heavy
metals or radon? 4) In light of CSA testing and the fact that at least two legal
recipients of this product have stated that it made them physically ill and
actually sent the product back to Health Canada, when will Minister McLellan and
Prairie Plant Systems begin to take seriously the very real concerns of Canada's
critically and chronically ill, who are to be the end users of this product?
 
CSA believes that Health Canada could have saved millions of dollars and years
of unnecessary work and suffering, had they shown common sense and listened to
the concerns of experienced users, cultivators and distributors, who have
expressed worries over possible heavy metal contamination and have stressed the
importance of organic cultivation since it was first announced that this product
would be grown in an abandoned Copper and Zinc mine. [8]
 
"Canada's compassion clubs and societies have the experience and expertise that
is so obviously missing from the Office of Cannabis Medical Access", said Lucas.
"They are currently the only safe source of cannabis for Canadians suffering
from critical or chronic conditions, and they are contributing more to domestic
cannabis research than any other organization, including Health Canada - all at
no cost to the taxpayer. [9] If the federal government has a better model,
Canadians have yet to see it."

Canadians for Safe Access advises Health Canada to cease the distribution of
Prairie Plant Systems' cannabis to legal users and researchers until the extent
and results of their safety testing is revealed, and accommodations are made for
an independent analysis of this product.   

For much more information on heavy metal contamination in Flin Flon, please see:
http://safeaccess.ca/research/flinflon.htm 


[1] See CSA's Sept. 14th press release at: http://safeaccess.ca/pr/csapr7.htm.  

[2] Quote from a February 10th 2003 article by Helen Fallding for the Winnipeg
Free Press: http://www.manitobachiefs.com/news/2003/nbfeb03/02100306.html 

[3] See a Natural Resources Canada soil sample map showing highly elevated
levels or arsenic in humus throughout the Flin Flon area.  For information on
the dangers of arsenic inhalation and ingestion, please see: 
http://www.levitt-safety.com/WhatsNew/DesignatedSubstances/Docs/Arsenic%20EnvCdn.pdf

[4] http://www.miningwatch.ca/documents/financial_options_paper.pdf ; 

[5] http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/annual-report/soe-reports/soe93/air.html 

[6] Cannabis Culture #39.  November 5th, 2002.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2590.html 

[7] For more information on elevated levels of radon in Manitoba and potential
dangers of exposure, please see:
http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/annual-report/soe-reports/soe95/air.html 

[8] http://cannabiscoalition.ca/coalitionltr.htm 

[9] See previous CSA press release at: http://safeaccess.ca/pr/csapr6.htm 


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