Should Health Canada Centralize Medical Marijuana Production?

[Truth Seeker]

Health Canada is thinking of taking the growth of medical marijuana out of individual hands. (iStock)

Health Canada is struggling to police its medical marijuana program, which permits over 15,000 people to legally grow their own plants.

CBC News has learned that the department has no record of inspecting any individual growers, who apply in writing and must provide documentation that shows they have a "grave and debilitating" illness.

Those who qualify can grow marijuana for medicinal purposes or have someone grow it for them under a designated-person production licence.

The job of enforcing safety and compliance falls to 15 Health Canada inspectors, who are also responsible for inspecting all legal drugs and pharmaceuticals in Canada.

Some police organizations have raised concerns about the program and the limitations of the background checks required to qualify for it. A 2010 RCMP report contains evidence that 37 convicted traffickers have obtained licenses and that some growers have abused the system or have ties to organized crime.

Officials have admitted that Health Canada has no real enforcement capacity and that they rarely suspend or revoke licenses.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq says the program is in need of reform, and that the department is considering a system of mail-order medical pot, to be produced by industrial growers.

"We are moving to eliminate personal grow-ops which will not require inspection," she said. "We are moving forward in looking at medical marijuana in terms of how any other prescription drug is accessed."

Ottawa isn't expected to unveil the new medical marijuana rules until 2014. In the meantime, Health Canada will keep issuing individual growing permits.

One grower told CBC News that those who do not abuse the system should not be penalized because of those who do.

"I liken it to many people who drink and drive and kill people, but just because you have a driver's licence doesn't mean you can't buy alcohol."

Are you concerned about the limited oversight of individual marijuana growers? If so, you think the solution is to set up a mail-order system and stop issuing individual growing permits? Why or why not?

News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: cbc.ca
Author: Community Team
Contact: CBC.ca - Contact Us Page
Website: Should Health Canada centralize medical marijuana production? - Your Community

 

[Caber1]

Does CBC mention that they tried this before and the pot was so bad that they may as well have been growing hemp? And what happens when they can't keep up to the demand?
I wouldn't trust health Canada with my health. They have as much compassion as the local gangs around here, but the important difference is that I can get kick ass weed from the gangs.

 

[Purple Goose]

Does CBC mention that they tried this before and the pot was so bad that they may as well have been growing hemp? And what happens when they can't keep up to the demand?
I wouldn't trust health Canada with my health. They have as much compassion as the local gangs around here, but the important difference is that I can get kick ass weed from the gangs.

They will never get it thru due to the fact that presently the current legal battle is over wether there program is even constitutional and if they can not make the access to medical marijuana easily available to anyone who meets the criteria for being issued a licence to use within 90 days of the last ruling so now before we even have to worry about 2014 the gov has to worry about wether the appeal court that upheald the leagalization of prostitution will overturn this when the govt has not shown how making only a few major companies responsible for production will in any way speed up or ensure that all canadians who could or can use marijuan legaly will have access, especially when you consider that its currently estimated that over 1mil canadians fit the profile to be legal marijauan users and if thats true health canada also says the average use is 1-3 grams per day well if thats true that is at a bare minimum over 3mill grams of high grade weed that a few companies will have to produce daily not taking into account the fact there are many who need far more then this relatively small amount. I personally dont see where they are going to find these few companies with enough money to afford to build the massive indoor growing facilities that will be needed to produce the thousands of different strains needed because myself as a legaly licenced canadian grower for my own uses have 8 different mother plants which I grow a few clones of each every crop so I have a wide variety to take care of my different needs for cannabis as we know does not come in a one size fits all strain, there are many people who use mmj that also use far more then 10 different strains and if health canada has its way each producer will only be able to grow 10 different strains and patients will only be able to get there medicine from one producer, then the next problem that comes to mind is pricing ,as we all know even Health canads price of 150$ for an ounce of schwag is actuallly a price that is more along the lines of blackmarket instead of how they claimed that the cost of the medical marijuana supplied by health canada would be non profit and supplied at cost, well lets get real here as a licenced grower I know for a fact that my best kush has never cost me more then 35$ per ounce to produce thats taking into 3 years of growing cost of nutrients , utilities ,rent and equipment so unless health canada is going to have companies open up a chain of stores that supply kush as good as mine and most other growers for a price that is along the lines of 2$ per gram then I have no problems if not I imagine the govt will be hit with thousands of constitutional violation suits and we will see legal cannabis in canada before 2020.

 

[sicntired]

I just got my license to produce and the first thing I see is that ,without consulting a single patient grower,the feds want to take my license away.I haven,t even had the back room cleaned out yet.Now I wonder if it's worth the trouble?I heard Harper say that he wanted to turn the growing over to his friends in the private sector.I assumed there would be meetings.Evidently they met with the police,the clinics and the people wanting to take the job away from us.Not to one of us.This,after the last government lost the monopoly to grow as a violation of our charter rights.I'm waiting for someone to file against this but it seems to be a catch 22.Can't file till they make their move and when that is done we'll be screwed.I am currently on disability and the output for the equipment was to be spread out over a period of time.Now that time is very limited.I will soon be an old age pensioner and buying cannabis at market will be out of my reach.I hope that something bad happens to the entire federal government.That's about the only way this bunch will get off our backs.They hate drugs so much.I was amazed that they granted my license even though I do have a serious spinal deformity that is extremely painful.Harper's granting of the grow rights to corporate Canada is what I would expect from him.The same corporate Canada that has been opposed to any rights for marijuana smokers for ever.I have said it before.The fight for the right to cannabis is an ongoing battle that seems to never end.When it looks like you finally win a victory there is always some politician out there trying to take it all away.