The Business of Medical Marijuana in Canada
Last Friday BC Federal Court Judge Micheal Manson issued an injunction granting MMAR patients the ability to continue to grow their own medical marijuana. On the surface this seems like a victory for medical marijuana patients in Canada, unfortunately this did nothing for the majority of medical marijuana patients who remain largely underserved in many ways including access to MMJ. What it did do in the country was save the already established ‘Business of Medical Marijuana’ which has been flourishing in BC under MMAR regulations. It is no big secret that the majority of MMAR production licences in the province support the vast network of compassion clubs across BC and ultimately the country. This business which has flourished for the last decade is the main reason the FEDS are trying to regulate away what is a majority British Columbian owned and operated industry.
Caught in the crossfire of this court battle are the rights of the medical marijuana patients which were completely ignored last Friday.
There are a couple fallacies I want to clear up in this article.
Firstly, the MMAR program did not give Canadians equal access to medical marijuana.
The program needed fixing badly. Anyone telling you different is only thinking of themselves. MMAR denied access to the majority of Canadians by providing limited options to acquire marijuana beyond personal production.
The reality before the introduction of Canadian LPs…
If you did not have a green thumb, or know somebody with a green thumb, MMAR did nothing to provide access to Canadians seeking medical marijuana.
Licenced producers’ soIve a critical problem to the program providing broad access to Canadians where MMAR did not. That is the one good thing about MMPR. The problem is that MMAR producers being somewhat business savvy, stepped up to the plate and filled the access void in Canada by supplying the compassion clubs across the country for the last 10 years. This is not a bad thing and I would not be embarrassed about admitting this. MMAR people were just helping the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling in providing medical marijuana to all Canadians when government policy fell short.
I maintain that most people do not want to grow, do not have the space to grow, nor have the expertise to grow cannabis in their homes.
They would rather just purchase cannabis.
Proof of this access issue is the vast discrepancy between compassion club memberships across the country and official MMAR memberships. MMAR did nothing to provide access to medical marijuana so the majority of Canadians using medical marijuana who were not interested in growing their own medicine never bothered signing up for MMAR. I know I didn’t, and exculsively used compassion clubs for years without ever having official MMAR status. I only got my grow licence when I wanted to produce cannabis in my half bathroom. Do a poll at any of the clubs… most compassion club members are not MMAR members.
You only signed up for MMAR if you want to produce or get free weed. I was only a MMAR producer officially for 1 year in 2010; I have been a member of 2 compassion clubs for 8 and 7 years now. I do not have official compassion club membership totals, but they typically run between 500 and 5,000 members with literally hundreds, if not thousands open across the country supporting the majority of medical marijuana users.
This indicates current medical marijuana usage in Canada is already upwards of half a million Canadians AND not 40,000 that consist in the MMAR program.
There may be 2,000 to 5,000 dedicated MMAR growers like myself of have a passion for GROWING and it is ingrained culture who you will never get to stop growing marijuana... these people are not the target market, nor are they a competitive threat… please leave them alone and let them grow their pot. A 25 plant licence will provide 1 to 2 grams of cannabis oil per day which is full cannabinoid treatment for anyone.
Small amoutns of personal production are not a threat to anyone; personal or public safety, or even corporate threat cannibalizing retail MMJ sales.
CANADIAN MMJ IS ALREADY A $5B BUSINESS!!!
The government MMAR program has licenced 3.5 million plants which I estimate has the potential to produce 3 to 4 million pounds of MMJ per year. About $6B to $8B of medical marijuana at compassion club prices of $1600/lb. to $2400/lb. for AAA weed. Certainly a discount to street prices of $3200/lb. or the insane $4500/lb. per pound the MMPR program wants to charge…
….But it’s NON PROFIT right?
So while BC and the Federal government fight over the business of medical marijuana in Canada. Medical marijuana patients and medical marijuana continue to suffer in Canada being completely ignored. The bottom line is even though the judge showed his complete derelict in responsibility in holding charter initiatives in a charter case trying to protect corporate interests…
No judge in the country will convict anyone growing medical marijuana while this injunction is in place.
MMAR licence or no.
As I predicted, we now have a Wild, Wild, West of Cannabis in Canada because no one ever thought about developing some common sense and practical rules that suit everybody, helped develop the medical marijuana industry in Canada, and didn’t usurp BC’s multi-billion medical marijuana industry.
This should really be viewed as a good news situation and not bad a news situation for everyone as MMAR growers and LP’s now have a somewhat even playing field and you now have an officially unofficial ‘laissez faire’ medical marijuana system that has been unleashed in Canada where almost anything goes.
If you want an industry to develop properly… a laissez faire system is ideal. So ultimately, this is good.
Medical marijuana needs a commercial component in Canada. It needs a lot more than just a mail order POT business. Business brings convenience; it brings innovation, and research & development. For 10 years POTHEADs have been smoking butane laced budder, since business has been involved… we now have a purified and refined budder into shatter. That is all about business going the extra mile… not a MMAR patient. Although MMAR patients were the pioneers in this industry and need to be recognized.
Canadian MMJ Needs a Business Component
It is this type of innovation that the Canadian Medical marijuana scene was missing without corporate involvement and desperately needed. At the same time the ability to personally produce marijuana is an essential component to the system as well. It is a cheap affordable alternative to many medications for the poor who could not afford any other alternative. To take this away from anyone, let alone the most disadvantaged in society, is completely unethical.
A gram per day cannabis oil is a typical dose for a cancer patient fighting cancer. How can you tell someone fighting cancer they no longer can afford a key component of their treatment?
Many Canadian companies’ share prices have dropped on the injunction news since Friday, but I suggest that this is a second opportunity at cheaper prices of some of these stocks entering into the commercialization of a high flying sector that is already worth in excess of $5B according to the Federal Government’s admission of 3.5M plants authorized in the MMAR program.
It is business that will take this industry forward bringing science, technology, and education to the scene; but it was the MMAR patients who were the pioneers in the industry and should be treated fairly and should not be forgotten. Nor should they have their MMJ business' rudely stolen by Ottawa. I think there is room for both MMAR and MMPR in this $5B plus Canadian industry. In many cases you are already seeing MMAR and MMPR marry with a business like ENRT having shown a willingness to team up with MMAR to help take the industry forward.
Source: http://www.beatthemarketstockpicks.com/
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