Pubdate: Tue, 05 Jul 2016
Source: Metro (Ottawa, CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Metro
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/Ottawa
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4032
Author: Lucy Scholey
Page: 3

MARIJUANA PATIENTS BRACE FOR POSSIBLE MAIL DELAYS

Canada Post unrest has some looking for alternates

Medical marijuana patients are bracing for late prescription
deliveries and mail disruptions as Canada Post labour talks continue
this week.

As of Monday, Canada Post had yet to give the required 72 hours notice
of a lockout, and the postal workers union had yet to give notice of
job action.

But some licensed cannabis producers have already found alternate
delivery methods for the tens of thousands of Canadian patients who
get their medicine by mail.

Tweed Marijuana Inc., a company based in Smiths Falls, Ont., switched
to multiple couriers about a week and a half ago.

"This is a big logistical system, so when you change from one provider
to the next, there are bound to be people impacted by it," says Jordan
Sinclair, communications manager at Tweed. "Surprisingly, it's been
fairly smooth."

But one medical marijuana advocate is still worried.

Laurie Maceachern, managing director at Medicinal Cannabis Patients'
Alliance of Canada Inc., says medical cannabis users already struggle
with what she calls a "haphazard" government marijuana program, citing
delivery issues, missing packages and stock shortages among the problems.

"The consistency and uniformity for something that is so strictly
regulated is just very haphazard and doesn't instil a lot of faith in
the system," she says. "The patients are suffering stress and anxiety,
which very often are conditions that they're treating with the
cannabis that they're waiting for in the first place."

The Canada Post problem adds "another layer," she says.

The concern for Dianna Donnelly, a medical cannabis user in Kingston,
Ont., is security. She's heard horror stories about prescription
cannabis packages getting lost in the mail and she's curious to see
how a new courier fares.

"I'm almost expecting delays," she says.

The government changed its medical marijuana rules two years ago, so
only licensed producers can mail out prescription orders.

According to Health Canada, there were 53,649 clients registered
through the government's medical marijuana program at the end of
March. By comparison, 18,512 clients had registered by the end of
March in 2015.

The client base of Tweed, and its sister company Bedrocan Cannabis
Corp., has exploded from a few hundred in their May 2014 launch to
more than 16,000 combined, said Sinclair.

Meanwhile, Canada Post and CUPW are still at the negotiating
table.

Mike Palecek, national president of the Canadian Union of Postal
Workers (CUPW), says a sticking point is pay equity for rural and
suburban mail carriers, particularly women.

- - With files from The Canadian Press
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt