Pubdate: Wed, 28 Oct 2015
Source: Sun Times, The (Owen Sound, CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Owen Sound Sun Times
Contact: http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/letters
Website: http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1544
Author: Denis Langlois
Page: A1

MEDICAL MARIJUANA FIRMS AWAIT LIBERAL GOVERNMENT DIRECTION

The election of Justin Trudeau's Liberal government has injected a 
big dose of optimism into Canada's fledgling medical marijuana industry.

While it's still unclear how the prime minister designate will 
address his campaign promise to "legalize, regulate and restrict 
access" to pot, officials with companies that hope to operate medical 
marijuana production facilities in Grey-Bruce say they are now much 
more hopeful about the industry's future.

"We're kind of in a wait and see mode right now," said Scott Boyes, 
president of the Canadian Bioceutical Corp., which plans to operate a 
facility in Owen Sound.

"But at least it's wait-and-see with a light at the end of a hallway. 
Before it was wait-and-see with absolute darkness at the end of the hallway."

John Fowler, whose Supreme Pharmaceuticals is seeking a Health Canada 
licence to produce medical marijuana near Kincardine, said he 
believes the election of a majority Liberal government was a 
"watershed moment" for the industry in Canada.

"We see this as a great opportunity to work with a new government on 
improving access for Canadians who need medical marijuana and on 
generally making a better functioning MMPR program," he said in an interview.

Steve Barber of Alternative Medical Solutions, which is building a 
medical marijuana production facility in Hanover, said the Liberals 
seem "more ready to accept medical marijuana as a remedy" for many 
ailments, while the Conservative government was "not as open to 
making it available to anyone who needed it."

The Tories, who were relegated to the opposition benches in the House 
of Commons in the Oct. 19 federal election, have always been opposed 
to legalizing marijuana, with Stephen Harper saying on the campaign 
trail the drug is "infinitely worse" than tobacco.

However, Canadian courts ruled a few years ago the federal government 
must provide people with "reasonable access" to a legal source of 
marijuana when its use was authorized by a health care practitioner.

The government's MMPR (Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations) 
came into effect in 2013 and restricted the production of pot to 
government licenced producers. It also established a "strict and 
rigorous" application process for growers to secure a production licence.

Last year, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against the federal 
government, saying medical marijuana users have the right to consume 
the drug in forms other than smoking. The Canadian Bioceutical Corp., 
Supreme Pharmaceuticals and Alternative Medical Solutions have all 
applied to Health Canada for a licence to produce medical marijuana. 
The companies are in various stages of the approval process.

Toronto-based Canadian Bioceutical Corp. has been working to 
transform the remaining section of the former PPG plant in Owen 
Sound's industrial park into a production facility.

The company announced last month that due to the uncertainty 
surrounding the future of the industry, it had decided to scale back 
its plan, dropping the size of its initial production area in Owen 
Sound from 180,000 to 60,000 square feet.

"Right now the system is broken and broken badly. Until such time as 
it gets fixed, it's pretty difficult to raise capital. There's not a 
licenced producer in Canada that's making money," Boyes said Tuesday.

"Until we get a sense of where it's all going, it's difficult to make 
any significant and firm plans. So we're just kind of tentatively 
going ahead on a smaller scale in Owen Sound."

He said Health Canada may not even issue any new licences until it 
gets "a sense of which direction the government will head."

If the government decides to totally decriminalize marijuana, current 
regulations would have to undergo a "radical change," he said. That 
could take years.

Supreme Pharmaceuticals, meanwhile, has refurbished a facility at the 
Bruce Energy Centre for its planned medical marijuana plant.

Fowler said the company is in the "final stages" of the process to 
secure a Health Canada licence, which it is "cautiously optimistic" 
it will receive by year's end.

Initially the company intends to grow about 1,500 kilograms of 
medical pot a year.

Fowler said he hopes the Liberal government will work to improve the 
medical marijuana industry "and not solely focus on regulated 
(recreation) use for adults."

Alternative Medical Solutions finished building the shell of its 
planned production facility last year and, based on feedback from 
Health Canada, recently decided to resume work and finish construction.

Barber said the company hopes to begin interior work within weeks.

Health Canada officials must inspect and approve a production 
facility before it will grant a producer a licence to grow medical marijuana.

Producers must grow plants for two cycles before Health Canada will 
test the product and determine if it will grant a licence to sell.

Barber said his company hopes to finish construction of its building 
in Hanover by mid-to late April.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom