Pubdate: Wed, 03 Sep 2014
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html
Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Dean Beeby
Page: A6

1,009 APPLY TO RUN MARIJUANA GROW OPS, AS APPROVALS NEAR HALT

The number of Canadian firms applying for lucrative medical marijuana 
licences has topped 1,000, as a so-called "greenrush" continues to 
overwhelm Health Canada.

So far, only two new licences have been approved this summer even as 
the department tightens the application rules - and as nervous 
investors await decisions on their multimillion-dollar bids.

Health Canada says that, as of Aug. 25, it had received 1,009 formal 
licence applications to grow medical weed since a call for proposals 
was issued last year, with 462 returned as incomplete, 201 rejected 
and 32 withdrawn.

That still leaves almost 300 applications being assessed.

Some 13 licensed producers are actively providing medical marijuana 
to patients, while another nine Health Canada-approved producers are 
about to market their products.

Just two new licences were issued in the past three months, raising 
questions among applicants about why the department's approval 
process is so slow.

In July, Health Canada tightened the rules for prospective producers, 
increasing some security requirements to ensure inventories of 
medical marijuana were stored in secure facilities.

A spokesman for the department says the new restrictive rules have 
not affected the approval process.

"The increased security requirements have not had an impact on the 
processing of active applications," Gary Scott Holub said in an email.

Even so, some applicants say the move appears to be aimed at smaller 
players, to discourage them from applying. And some still-unapproved 
firms are under pressure from their impatient investors, who have 
leased buildings, hired staff and paid legal fees with no returns in 
sight. "Everybody is just living in fear" of having their 
applications rejected, said one insider. "It's a pressure cooker 
ready to blow."

Health Canada radically changed the rules for medical marijuana on 
April 1, to end home-grown weed production in favour of commercial 
products under a new licensing system.

The department expects the new regime will create a private industry 
eventually worth some $1.3 billion in sales annually with perhaps 
half a million customers. Some applicants want to position themselves 
in the medical-marijuana market for the day when recreational 
cannabis may become legal.

As of August, some 9,448 clients had registered under the new system 
to order medical marijuana from the newly licensed commercial producers.

The issue of marijuana has become a hot potato politically, as 
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau calls for legalization of recreational 
marijuana while the Conservatives oppose the move, saying it would 
only increase use, especially among youths.

At the same time, Justice Minister Peter MacKay has said the 
government is examining whether police should issue tickets for 
possession of marijuana rather than clogging the courts with criminal cases.

Health Canada has imposed no limits on the number of licensed producers.

An estimated 500,000 Canadians use marijuana for medical purposes, 
though most do not obtain it through Health Canada-approved suppliers.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom