by
Dan Ferguson - Langley Times
A Langley marijuana activist says the new federal law that restores
licensing for small medicinal marijuana growing operations is a move in
the right direction.
“All things considered it does seem like a step forward, albeit, a small one” Randy Caine told the Times.
“On the upside, as medical marijuana isn’t subsidized like other
meds, the right to grow will help some relieve the financial burden,”
Caine said.
“The problem remains that many, although permitted to grow, aren’t
able or knowledgeable enough to do so. Think about it for a second, what
if the only way you could access penicillin was to make it yourself
from moulding bread?” Caine added.
“The parallel isn’t too far off.”
Caine, who owns a chain of hemp-based novelty stores, has lobbied for legal medicinal marijuanua for years.
He once operated a Langley City marijuana dispensary that was closed
down by police and founded the Releaf Compassion Centres that provide
counseling to people seeking to use cannabis for medical purposes.
The new Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations, which
took effect on Aug. 24, allow individuals to produce a limited number of
plants based on their daily dose as prescribed by a doctor, whether it
is grown indoors or outdoors.
It appears to be similar to the home-growing licences that were
issued until 2014 when the then-Conservative government made moves to
outlaw them and force approved patients to buy only from licensed
commercial producers.
A Federal Court judge ruled last February that was unfair to medical
marijuana users who wanted to grow their own and gave Ottawa six months
to adjust the law accordingly.
A statement issued by the federal department emphasizes the new
regulations provide an immediate solution to the federal court ruling,
but shouldn’t be interpreted as a long-term plan for medical access.
Caine calls it “a Band-aid measure.”
He would like to see cannabis added to the list of drugs already
subsidized by government healthcare programs as well as “access points”
for medicinal marijuana users that would provide support and guidance
and “a clearer separation between medical necessity and non-medical
use.”
Health Canada says it will evaluate how the new system performs in
providing reasonable medical access to cannabis, but will also study
other potential delivery models, such as via pharmacies.
Municipalities, meanwhile, continue to be concerned that the
proliferation of grow-ops in residential areas “with a variety of
associated health and safety concerns,” will now continue unabated with
the reinstatement of home grow licensing.
Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis, whose testimony about the dangers of
home growing was largely dismissed by the federal court, said he remains
concerned about electrical fire safety risks from amateur rewiring and
other hazards such as mould and herbicide contamination.
“We’ve been into almost 2,000 of these places and every one of them
had a problem,” Garis said, referring to the City of Surrey’s system of
inspecting home grows it identifies, usually from electricity use
records.
The federal government continues to take the position that cannabis
dispensaries are illegal storefront suppliers and subject to
enforcement.
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