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Health Canada is no longer going to sell pot, but it won't pass the responsibility to the joints that already serve medical marijuana patients.
The federal government's new medical marijuana regulations, released Monday after two years of consultation, completely ignored distribution by medical marijuana dispensaries such as Vancouver's BC Compassion Club Society and the Medical Cannabis Dispensary.
Instead of selling from a sole supplier, the government will select licensed producers that can distribute a variety of strains of dried marijuana by mail. Under the new system, authorized people will neither be allowed to grow marijuana at their own homes nor designate a grower.
But it's going to be business as usual for the dispensaries, decriminalization advocate Dana Larsen said.
"We're not going anywhere," he said.
Dispensaries, while technically illegal, operate in a legal grey zone since a number of B.C. Supreme Court cases dubbed Health Canada's rules unconstitutional. They provide cheap cannabis to patients with the "tolerance of the community."
"They've made a mistake to cut us out of the system instead of working to incorporate us into the system," Larsen said.
Since 2001, the medical marijuana program has grown to more than 30,000 authorized users from fewer than 500, according to Health Canada.
"While the courts have said that there must be reasonable access to a legal source of marijuana for medical purposes, we believe that this must be done in a controlled fashion in order to protect public safety," Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq said in a statement. "These changes will strengthen the safety of Canadian communities, while making sure patients can access what they need to treat serious illnesses."
The government will also allow nurse practitioners to help people access dried bud.
But that's not enough for the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries, who will host a conference this month on ways to self-regulate dispensaries to earn legitimacy.
As far as action by the Vancouver police, who tend to leave dispensaries alone, Sgt. Randy Fincham said they will continue to enforce the law.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: metronews.ca
Author: Emily Jackson
Contact: Contact | Metro
Website: B.C. medical marijuana dispensaries
The federal government's new medical marijuana regulations, released Monday after two years of consultation, completely ignored distribution by medical marijuana dispensaries such as Vancouver's BC Compassion Club Society and the Medical Cannabis Dispensary.
Instead of selling from a sole supplier, the government will select licensed producers that can distribute a variety of strains of dried marijuana by mail. Under the new system, authorized people will neither be allowed to grow marijuana at their own homes nor designate a grower.
But it's going to be business as usual for the dispensaries, decriminalization advocate Dana Larsen said.
"We're not going anywhere," he said.
Dispensaries, while technically illegal, operate in a legal grey zone since a number of B.C. Supreme Court cases dubbed Health Canada's rules unconstitutional. They provide cheap cannabis to patients with the "tolerance of the community."
"They've made a mistake to cut us out of the system instead of working to incorporate us into the system," Larsen said.
Since 2001, the medical marijuana program has grown to more than 30,000 authorized users from fewer than 500, according to Health Canada.
"While the courts have said that there must be reasonable access to a legal source of marijuana for medical purposes, we believe that this must be done in a controlled fashion in order to protect public safety," Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq said in a statement. "These changes will strengthen the safety of Canadian communities, while making sure patients can access what they need to treat serious illnesses."
The government will also allow nurse practitioners to help people access dried bud.
But that's not enough for the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries, who will host a conference this month on ways to self-regulate dispensaries to earn legitimacy.
As far as action by the Vancouver police, who tend to leave dispensaries alone, Sgt. Randy Fincham said they will continue to enforce the law.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: metronews.ca
Author: Emily Jackson
Contact: Contact | Metro
Website: B.C. medical marijuana dispensaries
