Pubdate: Tue, 13 Jan 2015
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Page: S2
Copyright: 2015 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Andrea Woo

AD POLICY IMPEDES DOCTORS, GROWERS SAY

Government's move to limit provision of strain-specific information
said to damage physicians' ability to issue correct
prescription

Licensed medical marijuana producers say federal advertising rules
pertaining to the drug are impeding their ability to adequately inform
doctors and patients of treatment options.

In November, Health Canada issued warning letters to 20 licensed
producers about their advertising practices, telling them they had
until Jan. 12, 2015, to come into compliance with prohibitions against
the advertising of cannabis laid out in the Marihuana for Medical
Purposes Regulations, the Food and Drugs Act and the Narcotic Control
Regulations.

This means that, generally, producers' websites can only list brand
names, strain names, price, cannabinoid content and contact
information. They can't tout each strain's reported benefits or post
photos of the drugs. All companies came into compliance by Monday, the
deadline day.

Brent Zettl, the CEO of Prairie Plant Systems Inc., the parent company
of CanniMed Ltd. - both of which were on the list - said his company
scrubbed a number of prohibited items from the two websites. They
include passages containing anecdotal evidence, a reference to
"reliability" and some photos of the products, Mr. Zettl said. What
remains on the clinical-looking CanniMed site is a generic, textbook
description of the company's cannabis products and photos of doctors
in white lab coats and product packaging - not the product itself.

Mr. Zettl called the restrictions "frustrating beyond words,"
particularly because Prairie Plant Systems Inc. had operated with
Health Canada under contract, serving as the federal department's sole
supplier of medical marijuana for 13 years, until regulations changed
last March. During that time, the company had government approval to
show a number of images, including those of marijuana and marijuana
growth chambers, he said.

"All of a sudden, they've changed their minds; marijuana plants are
now not to be shown, because they might encourage somebody to use
medical marijuana," he said. "My question is: What the hell are we
selling? We're not selling alfalfa. Come on."

Mr. Zettl said the restrictions prevent staff from fully educating
doctors and prospective patients about the drug at a time when more
education is needed for the market to transition to legal from illicit.

Zack Hutson, a spokesman for the large-scale, Nanaimo-based medical
marijuana producer Tilray, said the stringent regulations ensure the
medicine for patients is "safe, pure and predictable." However, while
they protect patients from false or unsubstantiated claims, "they also
limit the amount of information that can be shared with physicians and
patients about the differences between strains, which can help inform
treatment decisions."

Companies can directly provide more detailed information about a
product to an individual as long as it is not disseminated to the
general public. But as Mr. Zettl counters: "Who wants to become a
registered patient before they can get information?"

Health Canada declined to make a spokesperson available for an
interview despite several requests. An e-mail from the department
stated that in determining whether a message constitutes an
advertisement, one must consider the context, the intended audience
and who is delivering the message.

"If the message is written by the drug manufacturer, it is more likely
to be advertising," the statement said.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D