Pubdate: Fri, 26 Jun 2015 Source: Metro (Vancouver, CN BC) Copyright: 2015 Metro Canada Contact: http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3775 Author: Trish Kelly Page: 12 EDIBLES WOULD HAVE BEEN TOO MUCH FOR CITY TO CHEW Vancouver Needs This to Launch Smoothly. No Deaths, No Spike in Overdoses ... Last week, city council finalized policy to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in Vancouver. Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose says she is outraged. Given her cranky letter to city council this spring, we expected her to be miffed. Others are upset because the city has said no to the sale of edible pot products in dispensaries. Given the regulatory vacuum the city has waded into, the city has done a decent job of balancing the concerns of police, health authorities and neighbourhoods. In regulating the sale of edibles, the city would have bitten off more than it could chew. The federal government has done a poor job of designing the system that permits access to medical marijuana, dragging its feet and protesting like a toddler at nap time. They make it hard for patients to access the drug, and they make it difficult to change cannabis providers. Heck, they even spell marijuana with an "h". That's how obstinate they are. Case by case, the court system is broadening the rights of patients with a prescription for marijuana. A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court struck down the sections of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that prohibits possession and trafficking of non-dried forms of cannabis, opening a new door for edibles. Even if the courts have allowed access to edibles, Vancouver has good reasons to avoid the sale of edibles at dispensaries. St. Paul's Hospital's stats on overdoses found that 76 per cent of marijuana overdose cases were related to edibles. Because ingesting cannabis doesn't provide an immediate effect, it's more likely inexperienced users will think it's not "working" and consume more than they intend. And if makers of edibles are doing their jobs properly, their brownies and cookies will be somewhere between palatable and delicious, raising concerns for the safety of children, who might get into a family members' stash by mistake. Vancouver Coastal Health was clear to council that protecting children must be a key to the city's plans. I do think we need to sort out how to provide edible options, but it ought to be solved through federal channels. The city has allowed the dispensaries to sell cannabis oils, which addresses the need for access to something patients don't have to smoke. The federal government should ensure standardized extracts and lozenges are available as alternatives to smoking. Though the city's new regulations are not a pilot, we should think of them as such. Without federal or provincial support, we are on unsteady ground. And Vancouver needs this to launch smoothly. No deaths, no spike in overdoses, nothing the feds can use to justify forcing an end to the city's progressive and pioneering efforts. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom