Health Canada: MMJ May Be Coming To Pharmacies

[IndianaToker]

By Dean Beeby, Canadian Press
Source: Canadian Press

Ottawa -- Health Canada's long-delayed plan to sell government-certified marijuana in drugstores appears to be back on track for early next year. The pilot project would stock medicinal pot in some pharmacies for use by authorized patients, making Canada only the second country after The Netherlands to allow easier access through drugstores. Currently, 237 patients can get Health Canada's medical marijuana through Prairie Plant Systems Inc., which grows the weed in Flin Flon, Man., under a $5.75-million contract with the federal government. Thirty-gram bags of dried buds, costing $150 each, are couriered directly to patients or their physicians.

But since early 2003, when senior officials visited The Netherlands to investigate that country's marijuana distribution program, Health Canada has looked for a way to insert a pharmacist between the manufacturer and the patient.

The department is scouting out a handful of urban and rural pharmacies to begin the pilot project by the first quarter of 2006, said spokesman Christopher Williams.

Health Canada had initially planned a project for last year but regulations authorizing pharmacy distribution only came into effect on June 7 after a long period of consultation.

"Ideally, we'd like to run it in more than one province," Williams said in an interview. "Once we recruit the pharmacists, we'll make sure (they) receive specialized training in dispensing the marijuana for medical purposes."

Currently, 943 people are authorized to possess marijuana for medical conditions ranging from AIDS to multiple sclerosis, once a doctor has indicated that traditional remedies are ineffective.

Of these, 695 have permission to grow the plant themselves, while Health Canada has authorized 77 growers to produce it for other patients.

Prairie Plant Systems is also distributing a flowering-bud product that currently contains about 14 per cent THC, the main active ingredient. The company's five-year contract ends in December, but is expected to be extended by a year as Health Canada issues a request for proposals for a new long-term arrangement.

The first pharmacies to stock the product are likely to be in British Columbia, said Robin O'Brien, a Vancouver pharmacist who has been asked by Health Canada to participate as a consultant.

It would mark the first time Canadian drugstores are allowed to sell a controlled substance that is not an approved drug.

"I suspect it's going to be a very small pilot, just to work out the kinks," O'Brien said in an interview.

She said pharmacists can fill a real medical need.

"Most physicians don't have a lot of interest or expertise in using marijuana for medical purposes, so patients have been getting their information most likely from black-market dealers (or) recreational users," she said.

Some lay people may offer advice at so-called compassion clubs, but rarely is a medically trained professional available to advise on methods of ingestion or to warn about drug interactions.

"It's this whole step that's been removed from the medication process. . . . You need more than just written materials."

Pharmacists will need specialized training in how medical marijuana can be administered safely and effectively. Smoking has adverse effects and is discouraged, so that professionals may need to prepare tinctures, where the THC is extracted with alcohol and administered as drops.

Medical marijuana will occupy a grey zone between approved drugs available only with a prescription and Plan B, an emergency contraceptive available on demand but only through a pharmacist. Patients will need to show their Health Canada authorization for medical marijuana but will not need a doctor's prescription.

"It's almost like a new category," said O'Brien.

An internal document from Health Canada says it could take up to three years to implement a national pharmacy distribution program.

A longtime critic of the department's medical marijuana program questioned the value of pharmacy distribution when it's likely to serve fewer than 20 patients in British Columbia alone.

"What we're talking about is a potential multimillion-dollar, multi-year program that would only reach 13 to 18 people in this entire province," said Philippe Lucas in Victoria.

The Dutch program has come under fire for selling marijuana at inflated prices, but the Health Canada marijuana costs less than half the price charged by pharmacies in The Netherlands.

Earlier versions of the Prairie Plant Systems product came under fire for being too weak and full of stems and leaves. The company has since boosted the THC content and restricted it to buds only.

Complete Title: Medical Marijuana May Be Coming To Pharmacies Next Year: Health Canada

Source: Canadian Press (Wire)
Author: Dean Beeby, Canadian Press
Published: September 13, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The Canadian Press
Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21105.shtml

[mike59271]

1 ounce for 150 bucks of med herb???? IM IN!!!

[hoast]

2 grams more than an oz for 150, at the local drug store?

[stoned_soldier]

i see one huge problem with that.......FLIN FLON Manitoba!!! the government is obviously high if they think that patients will want dirty ass schwag from an underground lab filled with lead, mercury, all sorts of dirty metals infecting the weed.. a large portion of the medical users actually took their bud back to the supplier 1-2 years ago because the weed gave them headaches and was just dirty and was very low-grade.. fucking idiots

[Buzz]

Sure it'd be nice if they were supplying some sweet hydro...but what a huge step in the right direction for medical mj!

[Shenanigans]

Everytime i think about weed laws it pisses me off so much, about america. i mean we're supposed to be some big religious nation, and tryin to be perceived like a big Christian place, then they outlaw something that God made... america is the most hypocritical nation in the world and i fucking hate living here, im moving to the Netherlands.. whos ready to leave this hell hole? whos coming with me?

[IndianaToker]

By Andre Picard, Public Health Reporter
Source: Globe and Mail

Canada -- The organization that provides malpractice insurance to Canadian physicians is telling doctors they should not prescribe medical marijuana unless patients sign a release-of-liability waiver. In a letter to its 60,000 members, the Canadian Medical Protective Association cautioned physicians that they could face lawsuits for prescribing marijuana because it is an unproven drug so they should be careful to protect themselves, according an article published on the web site of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Both the CMPA and the Canadian Medical Association have opposed the medical-marijuana program since its inception in 2001.

The physicians' group and its insurers have argued that marijuana has not been subject to the same testing as other prescription drugs and that doctors have been unduly burdened with the role of "gatekeepers" of a program that they do not support and that leaves them vulnerable to lawsuits.

In June, the federal government adopted new regulations that were designed to address the concerns of physicians, but the CMPA said in its letter to doctors that the amendments were insufficient.

"The revised regulations are certainly an improvement but underlying concerns remain," said Dr. John Gray, chief executive officer of the CMPA. "Prescribing medical marijuana cannot be compared to prescribing prescription drugs."

Canada's Marihuana Medical Access Regulations were amended so doctors no longer have to recommend the daily dosage of marijuana or the manner in which the patient intends to take the drug, nor do they have to attest to the benefits of marijuana use.

Many physicians found it absurd and unethical to give their patients a prescription to smoke, and many had concerns about the lack of research showing the benefits of pot for treatment of specific symptoms.

Under the new regulations, the onus shifted from the prescribing physician to the patient. People who apply for the right to use medical marijuana must now attest that they "discussed the risks of using medical marijuana with a medical practitioner . . . and consent to using it for the recommended medical purpose."

Currently, 1,042 people in Canada are legally authorized to possess marijuana for medical purposes, according to Health Canada. About 250 of the program participants buy dried marijuana from Health Canada while the balance are authorized to grow their own pot.

Most of them smoke pot to treat chronic pain or to alleviate symptoms of chronic illnesses such as HIV and AIDS and multiple sclerosis.

The CMPA recommends that physicians present their patients with a release form, but patients are not obliged to sign it. And even a patient who has signed the waiver is not prevented from suing.

In Quebec, physicians are specifically prohibited by law from requesting that a patient sign a release from professional liability.

Note: Get your patients to sign a liability waiver or face lawsuits, insurance group says.

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Author: Andre Picard, Public Health Reporter
Published: Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca
Website: http://www.globeandmail.com/
Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21205.shtml