TORONTO (AP) — Canadians suffering from terminal illnesses
               and chronic conditions such as arthritis can legally grow and
               smoke marijuana, or designate someone else to grow it for
               them, under regulations that take effect Monday.

               The new rules are part of the first system in the world that
               includes a government-approved and paid-for supply of
               marijuana, now being grown in a former mine in northern
               Manitoba.

               The rules will expand the number of people beyond the 292 in
               the country currently exempted from federal drug laws that
               make it a criminal offense to grow and use marijuana.

               While some in Canada complain the new regulations create
               bureaucratic hurdles and put doctors in the unsettling role of
               prescribing something they know little about, the Canadian
               system looks wonderful to U.S. medical marijuana advocates
               battling a zero-tolerance attitude.

               "We're kind of envious of Canadians having the luxury of
               complaining about the minutiae of the program," said Chuck
               Thomas of the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project. "It
               seems like a reasonable system."

               Eight U.S. states have taken some kind of step toward
               permitting the medicinal use of marijuana: California,
               Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada and
               Colorado. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, ruled earlier this
               year that there is no exception in federal law for people to use
               marijuana, so even people with state medical-exemptions
               could face arrest if they do.

               North of the border in the country that is the biggest U.S.
               trade partner, attitudes are different. Justice Minister Anne
               McLellan said the issue of decriminalizing marijuana should be
               studied, and the Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to
               consider a challenge against the constitutionality of criminal
               marijuana laws.

               The new health regulations were drawn up after a court ruling
               last year that gave the government until July 31 to create a
               way for people requiring marijuana for medicinal purposes to
               legally obtain it.

               The new rules permit drug possession for the terminally ill with
               a prognosis of death within one year; those with symptoms
               associated with specific serious medical conditions; and those
               with other medical conditions who have statements from two
               doctors saying conventional treatments have not worked.
               Eligible patients include those with severe arthritis, cancer,
               HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis.

               More than 500 new applications are pending, and more are
               expected, according to the federal health ministry.

               The Canadian Medical Association, which represents tens of
               thousands of doctors, opposes the new regulations because
               they make physicians responsible for prescribing a substance
               that lacks significant clinical research on its effects. Without the
               cooperation of doctors, patients cannot get medical marijuana
               exemptions.

               Under the regulations, people can grow and possess marijuana
               for medical needs, or name someone to grow it for them,
               including the government.

               In Flin Flon, Manitoba, a mining town hundreds of miles north
               of the U.S. border, Prairie Plant Systems is growing marijuana
               in a former copper mine under a government contract worth
               more than $3.5 million.

               It expects the first harvest this fall of marijuana that will be
               supplied by the government to eligible patients and used for
               research on therapeutic effects. Company head Brent Zettl
               uses the same techniques that were used to grow berries and
               roses in the tapped-out mine beneath Trout Lake.

               In town, a novelty store has sold 6,000 T-shirts bearing a new
               slogan for Flin Flon — Marijuana Growing Capital of Canada.

               Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.