Pubdate: Mon, 29 Jun 2015 Source: Metro (Ottawa, CN ON) Copyright: 2015 Metro Contact: http://www.metronews.ca/Ottawa Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4032 Author: Joe Lofaro Page: 3 EX-PUBLIC SERVANT OPENS POT CENTRE IN OTTAWA A former manager in Health Canada's old medical marijuana program is expected to open Ottawa's first National Access Cannabis (NAC) centre. The company first opened its doors in Victoria, B.C. in March and will officially open a second location Monday morning at 1111 Wellington St. W. in Hintonburg. The centre bills itself as an educational centre for Canadians considering cannabis as an alternative medicine, which offers resources on how to use the drug safely. The company's CEO, Gulwant Bajwa, worked on the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) program, which was repealed on March 31, 2014. "I saw an opportunity where I thought this was something that I believed in, so I decided to cut my public service career short and I joined NAC in April 2015," said Bajwa last week. "One of the biggest problems about medical marijuana is there's not enough knowledge out there about the efficacy of medical marijuana as an alternative medicine." Bajwa emphasizes the centre is not a marijuana dispensary, nor is it lounge to smoke the drug. Instead, it will offer "information specialists" who will provide consultations for interested clients as well as pharmacists to review their medical history. "If you're taking something for high blood pressure, that's a beta suppressant. If you're using a beta suppressant, marijuana is probably not a right medicine for you because the interaction is very negative," said Bajwa. "So the pharmacist will talk to you about some of the other prescription drugs that you're taking and what effect it can have if you use marijuana as an alternative medicine." There will also be physicians available on site and by phone who can choose whether or not to prescribe medical marijuana to a patient. "It doesn't necessarily mean that if we put you in front of one of our physicians that the physician is going to prescribe marijuana," said Bajwa. NAC makes money through membership and consultation fees. An annual membership costs $99 in the first year and the consultation is a one-time fee of $150. Both fees are refundable if a patient is denied a marijuana license, said Bajwa. The company said it has received 3,000 membership applications at its Victoria location since it opened and so far 200 have been processed. "What we are offering is not available to people," he said. "There's a lot of interest in other parts of the country to get this kind of service available to Canadians." In a unanimous ruling on June 11, the Supreme Court of Canada legalized the consumption of medical marijuana in all forms, meaning license holders are not limited to the dried product. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt