Health Canada’s Tackle Illegal Cannabis Market Punishes Medical Patients Again!

It can be recalled that in December 2020, the Canadian Health Department reported that many of the medical cannabis growers in the country had and are still diverting their products to the recreational cannabis market.

This discovery was worrying as it was unclear whether these findings were systemic or targeted to health regulators.

This has led the health authority to propose plans that could be harmful to innocent patients in need of medicinal cannabis.

In this article, you will learn what is going on in relation to the inconsistencies identified by Health Canada and the plans it is implementing to rid the industry of these rogue farmers.

In September 2020, Canada had given around 420,000 patients permission to use medical cannabis.

Of this total population, only 10% are registered with Health Canada, while the majority get their cannabis and CBD products from government-approved vendors.

Health Canada’s current guidelines for the medicinal use of cannabis allow patients to cultivate their plant supplies with the help of an experienced cultivator or, if possible, themselves.

Cultivating these plants yourself or with the help of a specific cultivator would ensure that their dosage is not tampered with.

Some of these people let someone do the cultivation on their behalf because they are too sick to do it on their own. While others don’t have the time and patience to care for attention grabbing plants like marijuana.

These approved cultivators are allowed to produce for a maximum of 2 patients either for another person and themselves or for two patients.

The site where it is grown must also be approved by Health Canada, and the agency only allows four different registrations on a site.

The downside is that there are no set limits on the amount of cannabis a patient can grow. Hence, this measure has been taken advantage of by greedy patients and proven cultivators

The medical cannabis industry has had several concerns that the products being manufactured will exceed demand.

The investigation found that people who do not use drug-based cannabis have been given permission to produce these plants for the wrong reasons.

These individuals extract the CBD content of the plants they produce to develop other cannabis products. While some sap the plants to create subjects with very high cannabinoid content.

Health Canada official website pointed out these inconsistencies. Officials observed a significant increase in the daily number of people authorized to develop cannabis for medicinal purposes, either for themselves or for others. Further investigation revealed that these approvals did not comply with Canadian cannabis regulations.

It was also noted that more law enforcement actions have recently been taken in some areas of the country.

An example of this is in Ontario; Between July and October 2020, many sites were searched for illegal home-grown cannabis operations.

From January to this moment, over 180,000 illegal home-grown marijuana, various firearms and automobiles were confiscated by Ontario Province Police. These confiscated items were taken when the OPP raided the acreage. These cultivators are immediately deprived of their personal license to cultivate medicinal weeds. However, there are more of these operations across the country.

The government has promised to clarify open issues and enact more regulations to ensure fewer people are allowed to produce cannabis plants.

The medicinal uses of these plants are being exploited by villains trying to make money from the company. This illegal act is a disgrace to the system that is trying to access the positive aspect of using cannabis to treat diseases and their symptoms.

A draft document containing all of the proposed measures the government will take to combat this criminal activity has been released.

The new restrictions would result in many licenses being revoked.

In order for a patient’s license not to be revoked, they must demonstrate that their acreage complies with Health Canada’s strict safety measures.

In addition, the review process for license applications would be tightened, so that there would be many rejections. Patients who, for unknown reasons, have been found to be producing more than they were prescribed will also face new penalties.

Most importantly, there would be a specific limit on the amount of medicinal cannabis that patients should produce. Patients are now required to receive a daily amount approved by registered health practitioners in Canada. This would determine the amount they would have to buy from retailers or cultivate in person.

Effects of the proposed plan

The new plan seems counterproductive …

If these new restrictions are put in place, it could potentially deter Canadians from buying their cannabis drugs from local medical dispensaries. Many of these businesses are losing revenue.

Most of these users may not struggle to obtain prescriptions for medically approved doctors. You would choose to self-medicate instead. This in turn would lead to growth in the black market cannabis industry that is easier and faster. If not cheaper than legal medical cannabis.

A passionate worker in the cannabis industry, Mr Jesse Cozzuol said these new measures will push patients from the medical cannabis industry into the recreational market. Some of them might choose to grow their plants themselves without taking the necessary steps to get Health Canada approval.

When this happens, the majority of these patients are not receiving the adequate help they need to relieve their symptoms.

Health Canada urged citizens to cut their two cents on the matter by opening a public consultation. This 60-day consultation looked at the factors that are taken into account in assessing risks to public safety and health.

It closed on May 7th and the results could be announced to the public in the coming weeks.

Once these results are published, the health inspectorate will produce a final document containing the new regulations.

Hopefully these new guidelines will put patient needs first while pressuring growers who infuse their weeds into the black markets.

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