Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jun 2013
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2013 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Gloria Galloway
Page: A5

COMMERCIAL GROWERS FAVOUR NEW MEDICAL POT SCHEME

Growers of medical marijuana say they will expand their selection and
provide better measures of medicinal content as Health Canada
determines which companies will be granted licences to produce the
drug commercially.

"Eventually, we are going to evolve it to a true medicine," said Brent
Zettl, the CEO of Saskatchewan-based Prairie Plant Systems which, for
more than a decade, has held the lone government contract to grow the
pot that the federal department dispenses to many of Canada's medical
users.

"We are going to be providing some choice for patients in more of a
personalized medicine way, giving them more than just one brand," said
Mr. Zettl. He also said marijuana may soon be provided in alternative
forms such as pills, for more accurate dosing.

The transformation at Prairie Plant Systems is taking place as Health
Canada revises regulations that govern the growth and sale of
marijuana for pain relief and other health concerns.

By March 2014, medical marijuana users will no longer be able to
cultivate the drug at home or purchase it from a designated
small-scale producer. Instead, they will have to buy it from an
expanded number of licensed commercial growers.

That could mean more competition - something Mr. Zettl said he
welcomes.

"Up to this point, we've been competing with the street," he
said.

But, as a producer under the new regime, he may have to deal with
customers who are unhappy about not being able to grow marijuana themselves.

"I know many who are upset by it," said Paul Lewin, a Toronto lawyer
who specializes in marijuana issues, of the regulations unveiled
earlier this month by Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq. "It's going from
growing your own to paying inflated prices."

In addition, Mr. Lewin said, the chemical content of cannabis varies
dramatically, and a variety that is good for one medical problem might
not be good for another.

Currently, patients fill out an application with a doctor's
declaration that pot is an appropriate treatment for their ailment.
That application is sent to Health Canada, which grants permission to
enter the medical marijuana access program.

Starting next year, doctors or nurse practitioners will write what
amounts to a prescription that will be presented to the supplier. But
the Canadian Medical Association says there is great uncertainty about
marijuana's efficacy, potency and recommended dosage. It says many
doctors don't want the responsibility of directly prescribing it, and
large numbers might say no.
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