Pubdate: Fri, 26 Feb 2016 Source: Cape Times (South Africa) Copyright: 2016 Cape Times Contact: http://www.capetimes.co.za/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2938 Note: From the Globe & Mail CHANGE RULES FACT: Medical marijuana is a drug. Fact: Nearly all drug prescriptions are filled at pharmacies but not medical marijuana. Should that change? The news that one of the country's largest drug stores is quietly looking into teaming up with a medical-grade cannabis grower will feed reflection on what Canada's rules for selling both medical and recreational marijuana should one day look like. There's a good argument to be made for selling a psychoactive substance in a secure environment where people have advanced degrees in such matters. Shoppers Drug Mart says it's only interested in dispensing medicinal weed, but when the Trudeau government legalises recreational use and purchase something it has promised the retail market could also be up for grabs. It's no coincidence rival chains are putting out feelers as well. And while the feds control criminal law, a lot of health and safety regulation is in the hands of the provinces. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, when asked about the issue, sounded open-minded about pharmacies selling medical marijuana, while rejecting the idea of recreational pot in drug stores. She's making a distinction between pot used for therapeutic purposes and that used simply to get stoned. Right now, that's a very real line: the sale and use of the former is legal, the latter is not. But after the Trudeau government legalises marijuana, will that be a distinction without difference? Also on Wednesday, a Federal Court judge ruled it unconstitutional to forbid patients from growing their own medicinal weed, striking down rules put in place that permitted medical marijuana but restricted supply to large, licensed growers. The court says those rules aren't working, with medical marijuana legal, but often hard to get legally. That has to change. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom