Pubdate: Sat, 06 Sep 2014
Source: Guelph Mercury (CN ON)
Page: A1
Copyright: 2014 Metroland Media Group Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.guelphmercury.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1418
Author: Rob O'Flanagan

MEDICAL MARIJUANA SERVICE CENTRE OPENS DOORS

GUELPH - Medical marijuana services in Guelph just moved up the
mainstream health care ladder a few steps.

Starting on Tuesday, the doors will open for client services at the
new location of MedCannAccess Solution Centre in the Old Quebec Street
Mall.

The private company, which produces medical marijuana, but is not yet
licensed to distribute it, began in a space at the Guelph Chamber of
Commerce/Innovation Guelph building on the edge of the downtown.

Its roots go back even further in the community, as a number of
company officials have long worked for enhanced access to medical
marijuana. The office is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m.
to 6 p.m. Services are free of charge. The new digs have the pristine
feel of a pleasant and welcoming medical clinic, and are located on
the second floor of the mall, where a number of other medical services
are provided.

For now, when patients are registered with MedCannAccess they will be
referred to other licensed producers to access marijuana-based meds.
Once the company is licensed to distribute its own products, clients
will have the option to access them through them.

"We want people to choose to buy our medical products because they
honestly believe they are helpful and they fit their medical needs,"
said MedCannAccess vice president of business development Rade Kovacevic.

Trained social services workers will assist people who are seeking
wide ranging information on medical marijuana, and provide assistance
with the often difficult process of attaining a prescription to use
cannabis to manage medical conditions.

"The way the system is set up is that patients would get a
prescription from their doctor and that prescription would go to a
licensed producer, and the licensed producer would deliver the
medicine to the patient," said Theresa Kozak, the company's chief
client services officer. "Where we fit in is helping the patient get
access to that medical document."

She said the process can be tricky, because some doctors are not
willing to provide a prescription for medical cannabis.

"In those cases we would make a referral to another doctor who might
be willing to prescribe it," she said. "I think once doctors see that
patients have tried a variety of treatments without success they might
be more likely to consider cannabis as a medicine."

She said the hope is that by accessing MedCannAccess' services,
patients will be able to get better quality, legal medical marijuana.

The company is in the final stages of an application with Health
Canada to distribute the medical cannabis it produces. It owns two
production facilities, one in Guelph, the other in the Greater Toronto
Area. The Guelph facility has been in production since 2010, but only
licensed for research purposes, not distribution.

The office officially opened on Friday, the main room of it crowded
with supporters of MedCannAccess. Until the licence is issued,
visitors to the location will receive information on the Marijuana for
Medical Purposes Regulations and help with the application process
needed to use medical cannabis.

"For the three of us that founded the company, our dream was to
provide access to patients to medical marijuana with their physician
support," said MedCannAccess vice president of business development,
Rade Kovacevic. He formerly headed the Medical Cannabis Club of
Guelph, and has fought for years to improve access to medical cannabis
for those who need it.

"For us to now have a company that has two production facilities,
three solution centres across the province - with more in the plans
for next year - and then across the country over the next three years,
it really is our dream coming to fruition," Kovacevic said.

He added the company's main focus is to help patients navigate the
system and make their lives easier.

Two other MedCannAccess centres opened recently, one in Etobicoke, the
other in Hamilton.

Blaine Dowdle is the chief executive officer of MedCannAccess. He has
used medical marijuana to cope with migraine headaches, and has long
been an advocate for enhanced access to the product.

He said becoming a licensed producer through Health Canada would allow
the company to grow, store, process, and distribute medical marijuana.

The company is currently valued at $23 million, and earlier this year
secured $3.2 million in private investment. It plans to earn revenues
through the sale of cannabis-based medicine, Dowdle said. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D