I recently traveled to Toronto with Cannabis in my purse. I am a card-carrying legal patient within the ACMPR so these days, I’m like a new 19 year old just begging to be checked. But after yet another legal patient and friend of mine got arrested for possession of Cannabis, I will no longer be so bold.
As legal patients we’re advised of what we need to carry with us to prove our legality, all of which is controlled by the licensed producer that we’re registered to buy from. Most LP’s give you a credit card-like I.D. card or a letter to carry with you. If you’re carrying any Cannabis, you should carry it in the current bottle it came in. But as one friend and patient of mine just found out, this advice did him no good.
In fact, in newly legal fashion, new users like myself have been waiting so long to be legal that we’ll proudly announce it. That’s what this guy did and yet after the cop did some digging aka googling, he said that the producer who’s name was on the card and bottles is not a legal LP.
I can tell you they’re one of the biggest.
Alternative ways to prove legality:
Your Medical Document
You are entitled to a copy of your medical document, the Cannabis industry‘s equivalent to a prescription. If the clinic who assesses you disagrees, please correct them. This can act as evidence of at least recommendation from a physician. It does not however prove that you’re buying your medicine from a legally regulated source.
Your Shipping Invoice
This will match the info on your current container and further prove that the Cannabis therein has been sourced from a legally regulated source.
A Clinic Letter
The clinic that assessed you should be more than willing to provide you with a letter confirming the date that you were assessed and registered with the licensed producer. Most clinics are there to help you and will assist in any way they can.
Here’s the thing, it’s becoming obvious that law enforcement has no clue what legal means. And, with 44 different licensed producers who can decide what their flashy cards and bottles look like, it’s no wonder! It’s like proving you have an Oxy script by showing your receipt from Purdue. As someone working in the industry I’ve been told that the protocol for law enforcement is to call the licensed producer to confirm that the person in question buys his Cannabis from them. I can only assume that the officer called the 1-800 number on the back of that card but no one answered because they don’t work Saturdays.
Let that sink in.
So that means that we are all at risk of arrest on the weekends because if Police can’t confirm you, then goodbye Cannabis and goodbye I.D. card, too. They take it all and hand you a summons. I may never leave my house on the weekends again! Does that sound like a good thing for the economy? Tourism? The food and beverage industry? What if we work on the weekends and use our high CBD medicine on our breaks? How has no one thought of this?
I’m calling on Parliament to look into this, I’ve already emailed this patient’s MP and MPP and our Mayor for good measure. This lack of education isn’t doing anyone any good. Instead of liberating patients, this program is leaving them with a false sense of security that is simply unfair, unethical, and inhumane.
Come on Canada … we are more than this!