Pubdate: Sat, 14 Jun 2014
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Douglas Quan
Page: A13
Referenced: Regulations Amending the Narcotic Control Regulations and 
the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (Communication of 
Information): 
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2014/2014-06-14/html/reg1-eng.php

NEW RULES PROPOSED TO PREVENT ABUSE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Health Canada wants to monitor prescriptions, quantities, length of use

Canada's health regulator is proposing new rules to prevent abuse of 
the medical marijuana system by patients and doctors.

Health Canada is proposing that licensed commercial medical marijuana 
suppliers be required to periodically hand over to provincial 
authorities records showing the names of doctors who have authorized 
marijuana use, as well as basic information about their patients, 
including the quantities prescribed to them and period of use.

These measures, officials say, will help to monitor for and prevent 
doctors from prescribing "high dosages" and patients from going to 
more than one doctor to get prescriptions ("double doctoring") or 
going to more than one producer.

According to Health Canada, dried marijuana, like other narcotics 
used for medical purposes, "is susceptible to misuse and abuse," 
which is why more oversight is needed.

Officials say the proposed rules are in keeping with existing 
provincial and territorial prescription-monitoring programs for 
controlled substances.

John Conroy, a B. C. lawyer who has represented medical marijuana 
patients, said Friday while it appears federal regulators are trying 
to bring medical marijuana in line with other prescribed drugs in 
terms of record-keeping, he worries the rules could "further dampen 
or add to the reluctance on the part of doctors to authorize or 
prescribe" marijuana.

And unlike other controlled substances, marijuana doesn't have a 
"lethal dose," so the concerns about abuse aren't as serious, he said.

Under the proposed rules, licensed marijuana producers would have to 
submit the required information to provincial medical-licensing 
authorities on a semi- annual basis.

Health Canada anticipates the cost to the industry to prepare and 
send the records would be about $ 423,000 annually or almost $ 3 
million over the next decade.

Representatives of two licensed producers said Friday the 
requirements will be an extra burden on them, but they understand 
what Health Canada is trying to do.

"This is simply reporting that will reflect that doctors are doing 
things the right way," said Dr. John Gillis, chief medical adviser to 
Tweed Marijuana Inc. "We want to do things by the book."

Neil Closner, CEO of MedReleaf Corp., said in an email that while the 
company is a strong advocate of patients' right to privacy, "we 
support efforts by Health Canada and the professional licensing 
bodies to provide necessary oversight of their members with respect 
to any wrongdoing related to the prescribing of medical cannabis."

Rules governing medical marijuana in Canada underwent a major 
overhaul earlier this year.

Under the old regime, medical marijuana patients could grow their own 
marijuana with a personal-production licence or obtain it from 
designated growers.

But authorities complained that they were often growing more than 
what they were permitted and that the system was rife with abuse, 
prompting federal regulators to switch to a new system on April 1, 
which restricts production only to licensed commercial producers. As 
of Friday, there were 13 licensed companies, according to the Health 
Canada website.

Ever since Canada allowed people with serious illness access to 
marijuana for medical use in 2001, the number of users has ballooned 
to almost 40,000.

The public has until July 13 to tell Health Canada what it thinks 
about the proposed rules.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom