Pubdate: Sat, 05 Apr 2014
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Copyright: 2014 The Leader-Post Ltd.
Contact: http://www.leaderpost.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor.html
Website: http://www.leaderpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361
Author: Douglas Quan

BUDDING POT BUSINESS HITS SNAG WITH B.C. DELIVERY

Tweed Marijuana Inc., became the first publicly traded medical pot
company in Canada on Friday, but behind the scenes the Ontario
production facility has apparently been searching for answers after a
run-in with the law.

On Monday, the company was hoping to beef up its stock with a shipment
of medical marijuana products that it says it acquired from B.C.
growers who had previously been licensed to grow their marijuana at
home.

Even though the company had received Health Canada's approval to
import such products, the Mounties, who the company said it had
invited to inspect the shipment, ended up seizing it at the Kelowna
International Airport.

"We felt everything was done absolutely correctly," Tweed chairman
Bruce Linton said from the company's office in Smiths Falls, Ont.
"When you call police to say, 'Come look at this,' you believe you
have everything in order."

The case seems to highlight an ongoing confusion around the old legal
regime, which allowed licensees to grow medical pot in their
basements, and the new regime, which restricts production to
commercial growers, such as Tweed.

As of Friday, the company - one of 12 licensed so far in Canada - had
still not received an explanation for the seizure, Linton said.

Sgt. Duncan Pound, an RCMP spokesman in B.C., refused to comment on
the reasons for the seizure.

"We typically do not confirm or deny investigations unless there is an
investigational or public safety need. Specific details about any
investigation only become known when that investigation results in
charges being laid by Crown Counsel," he said via email.

Before the April 1 switch to the new regulatory regime, individuals
who previously had personal production licences were allowed to sell
what "starting materials" they had, such as seeds and plants, to one
of the new commercial producers.

Linton said Friday his company hadn't originally intended to purchase
other medical marijuana products; the initial business plan was to
grow about 25 varieties of plant at the company's 160,000-square-foot
growing facility.

But when the company started accepting customers early in February,
demand for its products proved much higher than expected, Linton said.

It became clear, he said, that the amounts sought per patient were
"several multiples" higher than what the company had planned for. When
Tweed pointed this out to Health Canada officials, the company was
told that other commercial growers were buying medical pot from
growers who had been licensed under the old regime.

The only stipulation was that they needed federal authorization to do
so. Health Canada spokeswoman Sara Lauer confirmed Friday that Tweed
received the go-ahead.

Linton said the company collected plants, seeds and "in-production
plant materials" from multiple growers across B.C. He declined to say
exactly how much product was acquired, but said it provided the firm
with an additional 55 varieties of marijuana.

Linton said the company's purchases from B.C. were a one-time thing
and that all future product will be grown in Smiths Falls.

The company invited the RCMP to come inspect the shipment at the
Kelowna airport Monday, the last day such transactions could take place.

"Our intent was to be transparent," he said. Plus, having the Mounties
around also provided extra security for the precious cargo.

Health Canada officials were unable to say Friday how many other
commercial growers had acquired marijuana products from home growers
before the deadline.

Linton speculated that the RCMP seizure may have been the result of
"confusion" because of overlapping regulations.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D