health canada

By Yolande Cole, Georgia Straight

A former RCMP officer and his wife are pursuing legal action after they say their medical marijuana facilities were raided by Sooke RCMP.

Cam Cavaco, who has late-stage progressive multiple sclerosis, and his wife Marnie O’Neil, who acts as his caregiver and is living with fibromyalgia, are suing Health Canada and the RCMP after they allege their medical marijuana plants were destroyed twice within six months.

The statement of claim filed by the couple’s attorney Kirk Tousaw alleges that Sooke RCMP raided Cavaco’s Health Canada licensed facilities without a warrant in December 2009, then destroyed the facilities. Read more »

ctvmontreal.ca

MONTREAL — Health Canada held a hearing in Montreal on Wednesday to hear from groups concerned about the future of medical marijuana in Canada.

Legal use of the drug has been in a grey zone for almost a decade, since the Supreme Court of Canada ruled marijuana use for medical reasons was permissible.

However acquiring marijuana has been a problem for thousands of would-be users.

Many doctors have refused to provide prescriptions for marijuana, so compassion clubs and dispensaries were handing it out to anyone who showed up with what was considered to be a valid medical reason. Read more »

By Stephen Thomson, Georgia Straight

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is speaking out against the federal government’s plan to reform the program that provides legal access to medical marijuana.

In June, Health Canada launched a public consultation on proposed changes to the medical marijuana access program, following an Ontario court decision that ruled the program is unconstitutional.

Under the proposed changes, physicians would directly authorize patients to use medical marijuana and only commercial producers licensed by Health Canada could legally grow and sell the dried pot. Read more »

By Bill Phillips, Abbotsford News

He doesn’t like constantly being thought of as a criminal.

And, ironically, he doesn’t want his name published because if we did, the criminal element in town would immediately target him.

He is one of 29 people in Prince George with a licence to grow marijuana for medical purposes. He fought throat cancer. He’s had dozens of rounds of chemo and radiation. Marijuana helps him.

One of the downsides of beating a tough cancer is that it changes you. He explained to me that there comes a point when you realize that, even though you’ve beaten back the disease, you’re not going to be the same person you were.

In his case, his cancer left him unable to produce saliva and difficulty swallowing. Because of that, he was unable to sleep through the night. Read more »

The following is an example of a letter you can send to Health Canada as they take feedback from Canadians across the country regarding changing the MMAR (Canada medical marijuana program, the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations). Thanks to WhyProhibition.ca for this great resource!

Feel free to use this letter in full or part, and please help share this link on your social networks (facebook, Twitter, etc)! We need everyone to tell Health Canada about what changes to the program are necessary while they are accepting this information. Read more »

GLOBE EDITORIAL

The federal government is promising to create a new and improved system of medical marijuana, but does it have the will to make that system work for patients?

The current system is broken. Patients from around the country – a Saskatchewanian with migraine, a Quebecker with degenerative disc disease, a Nova Scotian with glaucoma – testified in an Ontario court case that they had been trying in vain for years. The court said in April that the system is unconstitutional because patients can’t get the medical marijuana that would give them pain relief. The government is appealing that ruling. Read more »

By JENNIFER WALLACE, The Daily Gleaner

Recently Canadians have been asked for their input on the medical marijuana program as our government and Health Canada will be reviewing its regulations.

Currently patients are provided the option of growing their own medicine, appointing a grower or obtaining it through Health Canada.

The new regulations will force Canadians to purchase their medicine from an appointed government growing agency.

As there are many different strains of marijuana and each person requires something unique to their own medical problem, this poses huge medical risks.

Secondly, as insurance companies do not yet cover the cost of medical marijuana, the new regulations impose a devastating expense to ill Canadians. Read more »

BY AMY MINSKY, POSTMEDIA NEWS

OTTAWA — The federal government is expected to announce new rules for growing medical marijuana which would make it so only licensed growers would be permitted to cultivate and distribute it.

The move would eliminate individual and private growers from the current system, whereby eligible people apply to Health Canada which then issues the licence.

People in the dispensing community who have been hearing about the impending change say it's unwelcome, and will do more harm than good. Read more »