Marijuana user lights up in parliament

OTTAWA, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- A medical marijuana user says he lit up a joint in the Canadian House of Commons to draw attention to what he calls unfair rules set by Health Canada.

Samuel Mellace of British Columbia said Health Canada doesn't allow the use of medical marijuana in food or creams and is slow in processing license applications, Postmedia News reported.

"Smoking marijuana is not the only way," he told a news conference Monday. "There's other methods, there's people that cannot smoke."

Mellace's company, New Age Medical Solutions, makes products that contain marijuana extracts, including a hand lotion and butter that can be used in baking and cooking.

He lit a marijuana cigarette and took a few drags while sitting in the House of Commons public gallery just as the daily question period came to an end.

A security guard asked him to put the joint out and leave which he did without incident.