Marijuana To Be Sold in British Columbia Drugstores

[Jenya]

Marijuana To Be Sold in British Columbia Drugstores
A Pilot Project in B.C. Will Allow Pharmacies to Sell to Medical Users.

CANADIAN PRESS

Monday March 22, 2004

OTTAWA, ON -- Health Canada plans to make government-certified marijuana available in pharmacies, a move that could rapidly boost the number of registered medical users. Officials are organizing a pilot project in British Columbia, modelled on a year-old program in the Netherlands, that would allow medical users to buy marijuana at their local drugstore.

Currently, there are 78 medical users in Canada permitted to buy Health Canada marijuana, which is grown in Flin Flon, Man. The 30-gram bags of dried buds, sold for $150 each, now are sent by courier directly to patients or to their doctors.

But the department is changing the regulations to allow participating pharmacies to stock marijuana for sale to approved patients without a doctor's prescription, similar to regulations governing so-called morning-after pills, emergency contraceptives that can be obtained directly from a pharmacist without the need for a doctor's signature.

A notice of the change is expected to be made public this spring, allowing for drugstore distribution later in the year.

"We're just at the preliminary stages right now," said Robin O'Brien, a consulting pharmacist who is organizing the pilot project for Health Canada. "We're not quite sure how it's going to fit."

Canada would become the second country in the world after the Netherlands to allow the direct sale of medical marijuana in pharmacies. It would also mark the first time community drugstores in Canada could sell a controlled substance that is not an approved drug.

"The difficulty is that marijuana does not have a notice of compliance, so it doesn't have a drug identification number," O'Brien said from Vancouver.

"There's no pharmaceutical company that's going to come forward to take it through the regulatory process because they can't get a patent on it, so it's kind of a limbo drug."

The pilot project is slated for British Columbia because the province's college of pharmacists issued a groundbreaking statement last fall supporting the distribution of medical marijuana in pharmacies, unlike most health-care organizations which have opposed easier access.

Although the number of current approved users is small, O'Brien notes internal surveys for Health Canada have suggested up to seven per cent of the British Columbia population -- or about 290,000 people -- use marijuana for medical purposes, albeit illegally.

Easier availability of certified marijuana might encourage more medical users to register with the government, rapidly boosting the number taking advantage of legal dope, says O'Brien.

"We're not quite sure how big it could get," she said.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks is the method of ingestion. Pharmacists have long opposed tobacco products and do not want patients smoking marijuana.

Solutions could include developing a liquid form -- a tincture -- or capsules for oral ingestion, or the use of vapourizers that release the essential ingredient THC without burning.

[Hollow]

oh well. its stupid that weed is illegal but alcolhol isnt.

[Jenya]

Originally posted by safety pin
oh well. its stupid that weed is illegal but alcolhol isnt.

I'm just curious about why they would pick B.C. for their piliot project. Is it because most people are stoned over there anyway?

[TJL]

Do you guys accept Oxford Health Care?

[Fleet]

Originally posted by safety pin
oh well. its stupid that weed is illegal but alcolhol isnt.

But why have two problems/possible addictions instead of one.

[robyrob]

Originally posted by Jenya
I'm just curious about why they would pick B.C. for their piliot project. Is it because most people are stoned over there anyway?

probably because most of the people there who need it for medical reasons aren't getting it through this program, and doctors want some way to control what their patients are using

[robyrob]

Originally posted by Jen1989
It's a bad idea. People who don't have medical conditions might have easier access.

no, how it is in BC right now, it is MUCH easier for patients with prescriptions to just go down the street and buy it than it is to wait for it to get processed through the healthcare system and sent to them....

this is also not the same quality / concentration of marijuana as what is sold on the street, it is not something people would go out of their way to get their hands on at all (according to an article I read in the Vancouver Sun, most of those using it have complained that it is too weak to do any good, and went back to using the street drugs)

keep in mind that i DON'T smoke it, or do any drugs for that matter and I'm not advocating its use, i'm just trying to help clear up some misconceptions about the drug's use in the Canadian medical system)

[Swimfan85]

Originally posted by Jen1989
It's a bad idea. People who don't have medical conditions might have easier access. Say they know someone who has a medical condition they could ask that person for some. Not requiring a doctor's prescription is stupid because how else will the pharmacy know that the person actually needs the drug? The last thing people need is easier access to the drug. I have a medical condition and I'd NEVER consider asking for it.

alright, well this is just from a teens perspective, and its not really easier, because I dont think teens are going to go through the process of getting a prescription writen, I mean if you go to the suburbs you will see how easy access people have to weed, not saying I smoke, cuz I dont but I have friends who do (75 % of my grade does...), and they already have really easy access

[Jenya]

Originally posted by robyrob
probably because most of the people there who need it for medical reasons aren't getting it through this program, and doctors want some way to control what their patients are using

Hmmmm.

Is there any vacancies at Simon Fraser University's medical program? I wonder if I should change my career.

[x Rogue x]

British Columbia here I come!

[jekouptown]

HIP HIP HOORAY...

[Hollow]

weedz kewl *smokez weed* lol