Medical marijuana user opens 'inhalation room'
Last Updated: Monday, March 5, 2007 | 5:14 PM CT
CBC News
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A Regina man has opened an inhalation room in his hemp store for people who can legally use medical marijuana, but questions are swirling about its legality.
Dean Foster said he made numerous calls to the authorities, but still doesn't know whether authorities will consider it legal.
"We've contacted the RCMP, we've contacted the city police, the integrated drug squad, the City of Regina, the Province of Saskatchewan and all the way to Ottawa," he said. "Not one person anywhere has said it's illegal and not one person anywhere will tell me it's legal."
Foster has fibromyalgia, a condition characterized by chronic pain. He's one of about 40 people in Saskatchewan licensed to use marijuana to ease his suffering and has formed a group called the Medical Marijuana Compassionate Club.
As of Monday, anyone with a stash of legal pot has been able to take it to Foster's Field of Dreams hemp store east of the downtown. The service is free.
Instead of lighting up, Foster's customers will be shown into a back room where they use an inhaler. The marijuana is inserted into a capsule, a machine blows through heated air and the vapours are gathered in a plastic bag.
There's no smoke, because only the active ingredient in the marijuana — tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC — is vapourized.
There is a legal cloud hanging over the enterprise, however. When Foster opened his doors Monday morning, he wasn't sure whether he would be raided by police.
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