Pubdate: Thu, 27 Dec 2012
Source: Record, The (Kitchener, CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 Metroland Media Group Ltd.
Contact:   http://news.therecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/225

STRIKING A BALANCE ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

When the federal government gets out of the medical marijuana 
business, which it intends to do by 2014 after seeing new guidelines 
in place by next March 31, expect Rade Kovacevic to be among the 
first to apply for a licence as a regulated commercial producer.

Kovacevic is the founder and operator of the Medical Cannabis Centre 
of Guelph, a community dispensary of medicinal pot that could be 
granted such a licence, and the operators of numerous other such 
dispensaries across Canada are likely to follow suit.

And why wouldn't they? These dispensaries, that are also known as 
cannabis compassion clubs and whose operators have Health Canada 
permits that allow them to grow marijuana for therapeutic use, are 
already significant players in the field of medical marijuana use in Canada.

Operating in a legal grey area in terms of law enforcement that has 
existed since Health Canada approved the use of medical marijuana in 
this country a decade ago, these dispensaries service more than 50 
per cent of the 26,000 approved patients in the government's current 
medical marijuana access program, says Kovacevic, who is also 
president of the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries.

Under the new government plan, outlined Dec. 16 by Federal Health 
Minister Leona Aglukkaq, current provisions will be dispensed with. 
Those provisions allow participants with Health Canada permits to 
either grow medical marijuana in their homes with seeds acquired from 
the government-sanctioned firm that produces it for the Health 
Ministry, buy it from another approved participant who grows it, or 
purchase it from that government producer. Instead, patients whose 
current permits would expire, will find themselves following a 
prescription regimen, similar to that used for prescribed narcotics. 
With a doctor's -- or under the proposed changes a nurse 
practitioner's -- prescription in hand, a patient would head to a 
licensed producer to acquire marijuana.

Aglukkaq -- who is already receiving feedback pro and con on this 
move, including participants who are incensed that their right to 
grow pot at home will be taken away -- says with the rule changes, 
commercial businesses that will be granted licences to produce 
medical marijuana will have to meet strict security requirements.

The federal government cites many reasons for abandoning the current 
program, which began in 2002, not the least of these being the 
astronomical increase in the number of patients approved for the 
program. That number has risen from less than 500 a decade ago to 
more than 26,000 today. It's no wonder Aglukkaq calls the 
skyrocketing costs associated with that rapid growth "unsustainable."

Cheering the government's decision are police departments and 
firefighters, who are understandably concerned that some program 
participants have thwarted the rules, growing more marijuana than 
they need for their personal use and in essence are operating illegal 
marijuana grow operations, often in residential areas. Jeering it is 
the Canadian Medical Association and the Federation of Medical 
Regulatory Authorities of Canada, who say doctors will face an undue 
burden when it comes to prescribing medical marijuana without having 
vital information about a patient that would allow them to gauge 
proper dosage, possible side-effects and drug interactions, among 
other concerns.

There are also those who wonder what other commercial businesses will 
now enter the marijuana production field.

Falling in the middle are people like Kovacevic who see positives in 
the move, but also have real concerns about affordability. Under the 
current, taxpayer-subsidized government program, the cost of a gram 
of marijuana bought from that government-sanctioned producer costs 
participants from $1.80 to $5 a gram. With the subsidy removed and 
home-grows phased out, the cost of buying from a licensed producer 
will rise to $8.80 a gram, which could be prohibitive to users with 
serious illnesses such as multiple sclerosis who are on a disability 
pension. This is where provincial governments could lend a hand to 
their federal counterparts by seriously considering including 
coverage of doctor-prescribed, medical marijuana in their provincial 
health plans.

Canadians appear to have accepted, on compassionate grounds, that 
there's a need for medical marijuana for those with chronic health 
conditions. In an effort to balance competing concerns, the direction 
outlined by the federal health minister is an inviting course.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom