Medical marijuana changes

Times Contributor  

 

Medical marijuana users who grow their own marijuana plants are contemplating if they should burn their plants or just let them die a slow death before March 31. After that date, Health Canada mandates that medical users can’t grow their own product or purchase their supply from small suppliers. They will have to obtain their supply through a licensed producer. 

Some may choose an alternative option of arranging to sell starter materials like cuttings, seeds and plants to licensed production facilities and filing for the appropriate license. This license would allow them to sell to a licenced producer, but they still won’t be able to use parts of the plants for personal use.

There are only seven licenced producers currently listed on the Health Canada website; Bedrocan Canada Inc., Canna Farms Ltd., Mettrum Ltd., Prairie Plant Systems, The Peace Naturals Project Inc. ThunderBird Biomedical and Tweed Inc. An eighth producer, GrenX farms which is located close to Edmonton, has their proposal approved by Health Canada and hopes to be in production soon. There is an expectation that the number of producers could grow between the 180 recent applicants, to over 1,000 producers. The farms will service over 40,000 current medical marijuana users nation-wide and projections are there will be 400,000 users approved by 2024. 

However, potential producers have a number of hoops to clear before they obtain a licence. The process involves a lot of paper work, security checks and requirements for workplace security measures.

All owners and employees must pass a federal security and background check and register their passport picture and fingerprints. House grow-ops are not allowed. The grower must grow in a greenhouse or indoor facility within specific security components and have constant surveillance of the grow site; many detailed testing reports also have to be done. All sites must have protection mechanisms in place that prohibit unauthorized persons near the crop. They also have many extensive recording mechanisms for who goes in and out of the site, the customers that are buying the product and details of incoming and outgoing shipments. 

For more complete information see the Health Canada website www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/marihuana/info .

The new changes also change the Authorization To Possess (ATP) marijuana document. After March 31, all ATPs expire. Users need to register with a licensed producer and the label on the product or the shipping document will serve as their ATP. This label will indicate a validity date and an expiration date. 

To register with a producer you require your approval letter from your physician along with form B and completed registration form that is requested by the producer. For those who already have the form B completed; it remains valid for up to one year from the issue date. 

The registration info is taken by your producer and sent into Health Canada, who delivers approval to transfer material. Due to volume of requests, the process is taking three to six weeks.

The new guidelines do make it a little easier for new users to apply for personal medication, as they will only need one doctor’s consent and Health Canada has given doctors more discretion over what conditions might benefit from utilization of the drug.