Cannabis – also known as marijuana, pot and various other names – has been legal in Canada since 2001 for use by people suffering from conditions or diseases that cause inflammation and pain (such as arthritis and nerve damage), neurological conditions (such as multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease) and to help alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy for cancer patients. But the rules for using the herb are changing.
Prior to Oct. 1, Canadians interested in using marijuana had to find a doctor to prepare a declaration that then would be sent, along with other supported documents, to Health Canada, which then would provide a possession licence.
Although almost 45,000 Canadians have signed up for this program, it’s now being phased out. It will be replaced by a new program designed to address the ballooning need for cannabis. Officials estimate the number of legal cannabis users will increase tenfold over the next decade to 450,000.
Health Canada is stepping away from the day-to-day management of the cannabis industry. As of March 31, 2014, licensed commercial producers certified by the RCMP and provincial health inspectors will be handling patients’ paperwork and growing, harvesting and distributing cannabis (including imported product from other countries, such as the Netherlands.)
Fonda Betts, CEO of the Greenleaf Medical Clinic in Abbotsford, B.C. (which also runs the website www.medicalmarijuana.ca), notes that Canadians will still need a doctor’s declaration – but not a prescription, because cannabis has no drug identification number (DIN).
The hope is that a free-market system will lead to fewer processing delays and, eventually, competitive pricing. For now, licensed producers have set their estimated price tag at around $9-$12 a gram. With the maximum prescription set to five grams a day, the cost can be prohibitive – especially as many users are unable to work because of disability or age. Furthermore, some patients need significantly more than five grams a day, Betts says, which could lead to problems because these patients sometimes subsidize their legal product with black-market pot.
Now, licensed producers will be able to set their prices without government interference, letting the free market determine price. Most critically, however, the new program will offer more variety in product strains. Until now, the only form of medicinal marijuana certified by Health Canada was from the Cannabis sativa plant, a weed that contains high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (a.k.a. THC), the chemical that gives recreational users a euphoric “high.” However, the sativa variety has very little cannabidiol (CBD), which is a non-psychoactive compound that creates a calm state of mind and can help with sleep without producing the “stoned” side effect.
Another strain of marijuana, C. indica, is more weighted with CBD, making it useful in treating children. Developing and marketing strains that feature varying degrees of these compounds and others that are proving beneficial, such as turpenes (the chemicals behind the skunky odour anyone who has gone to a concert has noted, which are being studied for their possible topical benefits), will help patients, Betts says, find the most appropriate treatments for their condition.
There is some concern within the community that supports the use of medicinal marijuana that this new corporate approach carries its own risks. Craig Jones, media relations director for NORML Canada, an organization devoted to reforming marijuana laws in Canada, says that wiping out grassroots growers in favour of corporations isn’t necessarily the best way to ensure quality. For example, he cites the harmful chemicals added to cigarettes by the tobacco industry.
The transition period through to next April, during which growing licences will be phased out, may be tricky for Canadians who use medical marijuana. Currently, users can grow their own marijuana until April 1, at which point they will be expected to register their possession licence with – and buy from – the new factory farms.
New users, meanwhile, still have to go through the registration process with Health Canada – although they won’t be permitted to grow their own – until the end of March, when the government body will no longer be overseeing prescriptions. At that point, paperwork will go directly to the licensed commercial producer.
As for getting a doctor’s declaration, it’s expected that there will be more private clinics like those offered by Greenleaf, which provides Canadians with appointments via Skype to sign them onto the program and, Betts says, will help to match users with a producer of the correct cannabis variety.
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