Pubdate: Wed, 09 Apr 2014
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Page: A4
Copyright: 2014 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Tara Carman

POT SUPPLY RULING SOWS CONFUSION

Court Challenge, Overlapping Regulations Leave Some Producers In A
Bind

As the first of B. C.' s licensed medical marijuana producers began
shipping product from Whistler this week under new federal rules, a
number of facilities without Health Canada licences continue to supply
customers due to a recent court ruling.

Companies such as Agrima in Maple Ridge would have been in regulatory
limbo as of April 1 had a Federal Court judge not granted a temporary
injunction last month. The ruling allows licensed medical marijuana
users, or their designated growers, to continue supplying their own
medicine until the courts decide whether the new rules, requiring
patients to buy from a government approved grower, violate the rights
of those who can't afford it.

Agrima has applied to Health Canada to be a licensed producer, but is
awaiting a final inspection, chief operations officer James Poelzer
said Tuesday. Because of the court injunction, they are able to
continue supplying their current patients as a designated producer
under the old rules, he said.

There are other facilities throughout Metro Vancouver in a similar
boat, although it is impossible to say exactly how many as lists are
not public due to patient confidentiality.

There is confusion in the industry due to the overlapping regulations,
Poelzer said. The only way to preserve specific strains of plants was
supposed to be to transfer them to a licensed producer before April 1,
but given the court injunction, it is unclear whether this is still
the case. "Our patients ... like them, we know how to grow them, and
we want to keep those strains going forward," Poelzer explained.

This confusion was partly responsible for an RCMP seizure of medical
marijuana in Kelowna last week, which someone in B. C. was attempting
to ship to a licensed grower in Ontario before the April 1 deadline.

To date, Health Canada has authorized 12 medical marijuana producers
across the country, four of which are in B. C. Canna Farms, which
lists a Maple Ridge post office box, says on its website that it has
temporarily stopped registering new clients as current production is
only at 20 per cent of total capacity.

Other B. C. growers licensed by Health Canada to date include In the
Zone Produce in the Okanagan, ThunderBird Biomedical on Vancouver
Island, and Whistler Medical Marijuana. There are between 100 and 200
more that have applied provincewide, according to Health Canada. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D