Yesterday’s release of Health Canada‘s full ACMPR rules have allowed patients and advocates a better look at how the government plans to deal with medical cannabis in the country going forward.
Cannabis Growers of Canada executive director Ian Dawkins took to Facebook to publish his thoughts on the new system and what it means for patients in Canada.
Dawkins said the government made the right call in generally abiding by the orders of the court that created the need to overhaul the previous MMPR system, but several issues remain outstanding even under the new regulations.
“Requiring that all growers source their genetics from licensed producers is flat out stupid,” Dawkins said, calling it unenforceable. “Are there going to be genetics police with DNA kits running around the forests of BC and Ontario? Am I forbidden from collecting a land race seed and planting it? What if the genetics those LPs have came as a result of expropriating the IP of an MMAR grower back in 2013?”
Dawkins also pointed out that, after the announcement of the new regulations that allowed for home growing of cannabis, the practice is still being called “unsafe and illegal.”
“I remain highly skeptical that we will continue to enjoy anything nearly as reasonable as the AMCPR come the end of 2016, once the government has had more time to sit down and devise something more LP-friendly that can pass the Allard test(s), and they can dump the AMCPR,” Dawkins speculated.
Dawkins also mentioned Health Canada’s lack of knowledge regarding cannabis concentrates and extracts and that, just because cannabis is processed though Health Canada approved methods, doesn’t mean the end product is any safer.
“If you think a Health Canada-approved solventless rosin press of pesticide-laced cannabis is somehow healthier than a butane-extracted shatter that came back with an MB Labs or Anandia Labs report showing zero residual solvents, you should probably quit your Health Canada job and go work at a carnival.”
Dawkins said the only parts of the AMCPR “that don’t stink out loud” are the ones that Judge Phelan forced on the government to implement.
“I remain concerned that the widespread and resilient ignorance we are facing at the federal level is preventing us from having an educated, Canada-wide discussion about the best way to legalize cannabis for all Canadians,” Dawkins said.