Pubdate: Tue, 17 May 2016
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Paula McCooey
Page: A2

IF YOU LEGALIZE IT, THEY WILL COME

As medical pot sits on the cusp of legalization, dispensaries could be
the model of the future

As he sits in the sleek, modern waiting room of National Access
Cannabis, Derek Ogden can envision what his quiet education clinic in
Hintonburg might some day become: a bustling dispensary for medical
marijuana.

For the moment, Ogden's Ottawa operation is a membership- and
information-based business. Its services include connecting clients to
a network of physicians for a medical assessment, helping them
navigate the paperwork to obtain a medical cannabis card, and go as
far as offering cooking-with-cannabis classes.

They just can't have any weed on site.

"I think there's a large number of patients that really do want to go
in (to a dispensary), speak to somebody and view the various types of
products," Ogden said.

Some expect dispensaries to be the de facto model of the future. While
the government says there hasn't been a widespread increase in
storefront marijuana dispensaries, the Canadian Association of Medical
Cannabis Dispensaries estimates there are at least 350 such
storefronts in Canada, some of which have taken dispensing to a new
level, with self-serve vending machines that dispense three to four
grams at a time.

Ogden has an unusual perspective on the medical marijuana business and
its recreational cousin, which sits on the cusp of legalization. As
well as being the CEO of National Access Cannabis, Ogden is a former
Mountie.

In the RCMP, Ogden was in charge of drug enforcement. He worked
closely with Health Canada to help map out the then-Medical Marihuana
Access Regulations, which allowed a few dozen government-licensed
distributors to send cannabis to approved patients, but by mail order
only.

"It gave me a little bit of insight (into) the tough job that Health
Canada has with the whole file," Ogden said.

"We would have joint meetings and then we would map out a process. We
wanted to know that if we were doing search warrants we weren't going
to encroach on their medicinal cannabis patients. They wanted to make
sure things went smoothly back and forth."

In 2014, the federal Conservative government overhauled the regime. (A
federal court ruling this February then struck down a prohibition on
individuals growing their own medicalmarijuana.) The Liberals have
promised to legalize pot.

Today, there are about 25 government-approved growers, including Tweed
in Smiths Falls, and Moncton, N.B.-based OrganiGram Inc. Those two
confirmed they will move to produce and sell marijuana for
recreational use once it is legalized.

Cannabis industry consultant Eric Nash said the regulatory system in
place is only serving the needs of about 80,000 Canadians. That's well
short of the number of estimated medical marijuana users in the
country. The last Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey
published by Health Canada pegged that total number at about 420,000
in 2011.

Needless to say, there is a market for what Ogden hopes to someday be
legally selling.

He said that among the growing number of aging Canadians, many of whom
are concerned about opioid use related to liver and kidney damage, the
demand will only increase for those "who may want to try something
that will provide some relief."

Medical marijuana advocates say dispensaries fill a huge void for
Canadians not covered by existing laws governing medical pot either
distributed by mail or grown at home.

They say the answer is to introduce regulations to standardize the
quality of the product they sell and the criteria for clients looking
to buy it.

Opponents say the storefront dispensaries are technically illegal and
should be shut down.

Until new legislation is introduced, Ogden is looking for a middle
ground. He wants to approach Health Canada about using National
Cannabis Access as a test organization to dispense medical marijuana
out of its storefronts. To do so, they would need an exemption under
the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

"It makes sense to try it out in a test venue ... see what works and
doesn't work and adjust your regulations from there," Ogden said.

- - With files from The Canadian Press
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MAP posted-by: Matt