Pot Holes
T h e M a t r i x
one year on, two systems for medical marijuana continue to (awkwardly) co-exist by Jacob Parry
april 2015 BCBusiness 19 illustrations: saBrina sMElko
O
n the day Health Can-
ada's old regulations
for medical marijuana
were set to expire, a federal
court granted an injunction that
preserved the system of home-
growers, for the time being at
least. The two systems—the first
a web of independent growers,
the second a handful of savvy
growers—have lived side-by-side
for much of the last year. And
while Health Canada's sluggish
approval process and a regula-
tory flop in Washington State
(officials there miscalculated
demand and ended up with a
costly oversupply of pot) have
delayed momentum, Ottawa's
Marihuana for Medical Pur-
poses Regulations (
MMPR) have
been an important step in what
many see as an inevitable move
toward full-on legalization.
•
> Grow your own*
> Health Canada*
> Have someone
grow it for you*
* with doctor's note
One of 13 licensed producers
in B.C.* or one of the countless
dispensaries
(65 in Vancouver*)
* by January 2015
prE AprIl 1, 2014 poSt AprIl 1, 2014
whErE
thE futurE?
Pot sales will
either follow the
pharmaceutical
model (Israel)
or the liquor
store model (Colorado)
Around
10,000
patients enrolled in MMPR
who'
S
buyINg
how
much
compEtItIoN
Pot geared to high-end
consumers, like Tweed Inc.'s
Herringbone and
Buddy strands
The street
Around 38,000 growers
enrolled under old system
More U.S. states. And if
Justin Trudeau has his
way, non-medical pot
producers too
With legal Washington
and Alaska pot cutting
demand for illegal B.C.
pot, expect prices to fall
$5 to $12 per gram $8 to $12 per gram*
*according to MMPR consultant
George Routhier
Washington
State pot
tourists
Medical
marijuana
marketing rules
are strict: no
social media
advertising,
no colourful
names and no
allusions to its
recreational use
+
WHAt
ARE yOu
SMOking?
