Coming to a pharmacy near you: a bong in a bottle

It won't get you high but product said to be great for arthritis

EDMONTON SUN
by DOUG BEAZLEY

Just kidding. Actually, the Med-Marijuana line of herbal remedies contains
so little of the psychoactive ingredient found in weed, you could down a
whole bottle without feeling the slightest buzz.

"You can take this stuff till hell freezes over and you're not going to get
a minute of euphoria," said Bob Martin, a Calgary life insurance salesman
who recently got the rights to distribute the hemp-derived remedies in
southern Alberta. He said he hopes to start selling the products in Edmonton
soon.

"Health Canada's rules for (over-the-counter products) made from marijuana
specify they must have less than 10 parts per million of THC, the
psychoactive ingredient. Our product has something like 1.5 to two parts per
million."

While it won't get you high, Martin claims Med-Marijuana cannabis oil
tablets will help with the rheumatism.

The company hasn't commissioned any product-specific studies on the effects
of Med-Marijuana. Martin insists nutritionists have been praising the
nutritional value of cannabis seeds "for years."

"You could live on cannabis seeds and water," he said. "It has an amazing
effect on arthritis pain. My wife has bad arthritis - she started taking the
product and became pain-free in a matter of days."

One expert in herbal remedies backs up Martin's claim. Paul Saunders of the
Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine said hemp oil contains high
amounts of omega 6, a natural anti-inflammatory.

"So it has the potential to help with joint pain," he said. "I haven't seen
the product out here in conservative Ontario, and I don't know why it's
being sold as 'Med-Marijuana' when there's practically no active THC ingredient
in it.

"Essentially, the name of the product isn't incorrect," said Health Canada
spokesman Christopher Williams.

Martin said the product will be available in all 19 Super Drug Mart outlets
in Calgary this week. He didn't know when it might be available in Edmonton.