The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Medicinal marijuana from subterranean Flin Flon is expected to surface in Canadian pharmacies early next year. Health Canada is in talks with provincial governments, regulatory bodies and pharmacies to have the product behind the counter for authorized patients. "The idea behind it is to move it closer to the traditional health care model for medication," said department spokesman Chris Williams. The pilot project will provide authorized patients with a new avenue to purchase the drug, produced in vacant mine space at Trout Lake just outside city limits. Many details are still being ironed out, including a specific start-up date and which pharmacies will stock the product. "What we're trying to do is recruit pharmacies, ideally in more than one province and representing rural and urban areas," said Williams. Williams said he can't see why a pharmacy willing to participate would be turned down. Any pharmacist handling the drug, however, will have to complete government-sanctioned training. Health Canada had initially planned a pharmacy program for last year, but regulations only came into effect last June. The initiative will make Canada just the second country in the world after The Netherlands to allow pharmacies to dispense pot. Existing options for patient delivery will remain in place. Patients may still have the marijuana couriered to their home or doctor; purchase seeds and grow the plant themselves; or have an authorized person grow it for them. Saskatoon-based Prairie Plant Systems produces the product in the highly-secure subterranean grow operation under a $5.75-million federal contract. Authorized patients purchase the pot for $5 a gram to relieve suffering associated with conditions such as AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis and severe forms of arthritis. Williams said the government is pleased with the product, which he said has improved over time.
