Supporters Speak Out For Pot Doc

Supporters of a contentious medical marijuana program are rallying behind a Coe Hill-area family practitioner facing medical marijuana-related fraud charges across Canada

Dianne Bruce is a vocal advocate for the Health Canada operated program and the drug she praises for enabling her to enjoy simple pleasures such as getting out of bed in the morning.  Without medical marijuana she said she would be overcome by a barrage of ailments including crippling aches and chronic pains.

Bruce’s first hand knowledge of the program is fuelling her displeasure about the scrutiny and public backlash being shown to Dr.  Rob Kamermans since news of his arrest earlier this month.

She worries that Kamerman’s ordeal could threaten the program and patients like her who depend heavily on daily dosages of marijuana – her “medicine” – to function.  Bruce credits medical marijuana for easing a range of ailments including spinal disc herniation and pancreatist.

Kamermans, 66, was subjected to myriad of restrictive conditions to which he and two sureties agreed when he was then granted bail.

His wife and co-accused, Mary Kamermans, 64, also released on strict conditions – including reporting to the Bancroft OPP detachment once per week-

The couple was charged in relation to fraudulent endorsement of Health Canada’s medicinal marijuana documents in Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and British Columbia, between January 2011 and April 2012, police said.

Bruce has licences to possess and a permit to produce what’s designated by Health Canada as medical marijuana.  Proof of her participation in the program is crucial, somewhat akin to having a driver’s licence, she said.

“They want to take this program away,” she said.

The documents issued by Health Canada details whether the licence holder is permit to grow indoor or outdoor, plant limits and the amount they can possess.  Cobourg resident

“No doctor will want to go near this after what’s happened to Dr.  Kamermans,” she said.  “We have a medical doctor that has been doing the right thing.”

Bruce relies on doctors like Kamermans who have been active participants in the program.  She visited Kamermans about a year ago in an attempt to bump up her dosage and said Kamermans should not be penalized for travelling to other jurisdictions to care for patients seeking his help.

“It’s very hard to find doctors who are willing to sign,” Bruce said.  “If other doctors would take care of their patients, he wouldn’t be as needed as he his.”

Inside Bruce’s purse is handful of pill bottles containing synthetic “pot” in the form of a pill, which Bruce requires a prescription to acquire.

She takes six tablets daily to stem effects of fibromyalgia, a syndrome which involves body pains and tenderness in the joints, muscles and other soft tissues.  Fibromyalgia has also been linked to fatigue, sleep problems, headaches.  Bruce credits the pills for soothing her chronic pain issues.

“I take the pill in the morning and within 20 minutes I can get up out of bed,” she said.

Debby Smits also attributed her improved mobility and noticeable reduction in chronic pain to her consumption of the “synthetic medication.”

She said she battles a plethora of ailments, including arthritis.  She too has a licence that allows her to possess and produce marijuana and has made prior visits to Kamermans to seek assistance.

“I was there the day before his office was raided,” she said about the January raid at Kamermans’ Coe Hill office.

Smits said there is a misconception about some patients are misusing the product as a drug rather than for legitimate health reasons.

Contrary to public perception, patients like say medical marijuana does not provide the euphoria enjoyed by people who use it on a recreational basis..

“We don’t get high when we use it,” she said.

Dr.  Kamermans was charged Aug.  15, in Sturgeon Falls while his wife Mary – a registered nurse – was charged in Bancroft.  The Kamermans are scheduled to re-appear in court in Belleville on Sept.  20.

Source: Intelligencer, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012, Osprey Media Group Inc.
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Author: Jason Miller