Pubdate: Mon, 20 Jan 2014
Source: Vancouver 24hours (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Vancouver 24 hrs.
Contact: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/letters
Website: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3837
Author: Brent Stafford

The Duel

Columnists Laila Yuile and Brent Stafford battle over the issues of
the day.

The winner of last week's duel on CCTV cameras was Brent with
58%.

This week's topic: Do the changes in Canada's medical marijuana
regulations benefit patients?

CHANGES BRING PROFESSIONALISM TO THE PRODUCTION OF MEDICAL POT

Passions run high when it comes to patients and their medical
marijuana. Understandably, as many feel enmity towards the justice
system and government after winning a long fight to secure the right
to use and personally grow their own medical marijuana.

For a growing number of Canadians, marijuana is an essential medicine
and as of April 1 access to it dramatically changes. The government is
handing medical marijuana over to the free market, creating a new
$1.3-billion annual supply industry (by 2024) supported by large-scale
commercial production and distribution.

All current individual patient licenses to grow their own marijuana -
or to designate a third party to grow on their behalf - will be
cancelled. The new regulations eliminate the current cottage industry,
which is a mishmash of mom-and-pop operations, to be replaced by
sophisticated corporate manufacturing.

Yes, individuals will no longer be able to legally grow their own
medicine, but the reality is the current system is untenable.
According to the federal government, there are 38,481 residential
production licenses to grow medical marijuana in Canada and in 10
years that number was set to grow to an astonishing 289,000 if the
current system was left in place. The sheer enormity of these numbers
point to why the government had to make these changes.

Also, I have a problem with those who advocate medicinal marijuana and
then oppose treating it as we do other medicines. The new rules simply
move medical marijuana production closer to what we see in the
nutraceutical industry, where the production of vitamins and
supplements is completed under safe, regulated and monitored
conditions. Also, new standards for packaging and labeling will ensure
patients get the right medicine in the exact dosage.

Certainly, prices will be higher than growing your own, but ask any
novice grower to factor in the money and time invested to learn to
grow medical-grade bud and the overall cost far exceeds the cost of
purchase under the new system.

While some protest these changes as a corporate takeover, and a
violation of people's fundamental civil rights, I view these changes
as a complete victory for patients and the legitimization of medical
marijuana. The multi-million-dollar investments made by private
corporations will cement medical marijuana rights forever and pave the
way for the sale of recreational marijuana and increased tax revenues. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D