Item - 2016.HL16.8

The Board of Health:

1.  Recommended that the Federal Minister of Health and the Attorney General of Canada, amend the regulations that authorize the dispensing of medical marijuana immediately to allow pharmacies to dispense medical marijuana, with the intent of providing patients with improved care and safety, and providing municipalities, including Toronto, with needed support in addressing issues associated with illegal dispensaries so often posing as legitimate medical operations.

2.  Forwarded the recommendation above to MP Bill Blair and the Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation.

In Toronto, our police are struggling to manage the real danger of illegal dispensaries. As more and more of these criminal operations open, patients and residents are increasingly confused and put at risk.

While the federal government grapples with how best to regulate recreational marijuana, it is critical that the thousands of medical marijuana users have improved access to their medication in an environment that is formal, regulated and patient focused.

The immediate need for reform in terms of medical marijuana is made more pressing by the fact that based on its current timeline, the federal government will not have a new system in place until 2018 at the earliest.

According to Statistics Canada, over 400, 000 Canadians use cannabis for medical and, not recreational purposes. However, it has been reported that fewer than 10 percent of Canadians who use medical marijuana today obtain it through legal channels.

Further, we know that Canadians are strongly in favour of accessing medical marijuana through pharmacies. A February 2016 Abacus Data survey found that 73 percent of respondents agree that medical marijuana should be treated like other medicines and be available through a pharmacy.