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Canada: The Roots of Cannabis Access in Canada David Brown Lift Cannabis News Magazine Friday 03 Jun 2016 Today we’re posting our Roots of Cannabis Access panel from the Lift Cannabis Expo in Toronto, on May 28th, featuring Hilary Black, Dieter MacPherson and John Fowler, hosted by Seth Adler of Cannabis Economy. Our intent with the Roots panel was to give the audience a better understanding of the history of activism and court cases that has shaped cannabis law in Canada. Our three panelists all come from a history of activism in helping ensure patient access. This conversation resonated in the wake of Toronto’s massive police crackdown on dispensaries with Project Claudia, as panelists were able to talk about their experience establishing and working for some of the oldest dispensaries in Canada, as well as their experience now working under the new MMPR system. Hilary Black started the British Columbia Compassion Club Society (BCCCS), Canada’s oldest medical cannabis dispensary, and now works with Bedrocan Canada, a Licensed Producer. Dieter MacPherson is the Executive Director of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club (VCBC), started in Victoria, BC in 1996 and the President of the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries (CAMCD). John Fowler has been interested in cannabis law in Canada since he helped with the R v Mernagh case, and is now the CEO of Supreme Pharmaceuticals, a Licensed Producer in Kincardine, ON. The landscape of Canadian cannabis is, as always, changing and evolving. While it continues to be a push and pull between patients, producers, the courts and the police, all three panelists remain confident that progress is being made, and that ultimately, Canadians seeking medical cannabis in Canada will have the ability to choose form a cohesive and diverse system that serves their needs. Here is the entire panel, plus some key comments, questions and time stamps below… 1:00 – Introductions from Hilary, Dieter and John. “If you’re selling cannabis in this country, I hope that there’s a way that we can bring you in to a regulated and legal environment.” – John Fowler “What I’m interested in and continue to focus on, is breaking down barriers to access for patients.” – Hilary Black 8:10 – How much of the MMPR is informed by the history of cannabis in Canada? 13:00 – How did some of the first dispensaries get started? “The original dispensaries that opened in this country were highly conscious of the fact that they were operating illegal dispensaries and that the court of public opinion would be the only thing that would protect them when they first started. If they were seen to be bad stewards of their neighbourhood or operating for unjust reasons, they never would have stayed.” – Dieter MacPherson 17:00 – Introduction of the MMAR and how it evolved into the MMPR “It’s really important to remember, medical marijuana in Canada is driven by the courts and it’s driven by patients right of reasonable access of medical cannabis.” – John Fowler “The MMAR is interesting to me because it had a lot of great qualities, it helped a lot of people, but it had a lot of challenges. Now that it’s gone it’s sort of remembered for its best, but it was struck down many, many times and before the implementation of the MMPR, I would venture that most people working in the MMAR actually didn’t like it, even if they like to talk about liking it now. “The reality is when you’re court driven, it’s always reactionary. A court is a very blunt legislative tool, and it’s really exciting to see a government today that I hope is going to take serious the importance of legislation and regulation that can be much more nuanced and create a much better system for everybody moving forward.” – John Fowler 21:00 – Patient access and legality within the MMPR and dispensaries and the August MMPR rewrite. “The big picture is we need one cohesive, unified system in this country.” – Hilary Black 32:00 – What are the keys to being a successful dispensary? “How are we giving back? While dispensaries are civilly disobedient, if you want to have credibility with your authorities, I think it’s extremely important to develop amazing relationships with your neighbours. And how are you giving back? What are you doing with your profits?” – Hilary Black 34:00 – What went wrong in Toronto that is different than BC? 44:23 – Advice to Toronto dispensaries? “If you can work together, if you can realize that working with the city and asking for regulations goes long way, then you’ll get handed regulations that you asked for. If you don’t, you’ll get handed regulations you had no input in.” – Dieter MacPherson “Overall I find regulators, politicians, city councillors, they’re looking for information, they need to understand this issue really quickly, they want to be educated on the issue, and now is the time to really formalize opinions and ideas and get those out there. It’s more than just a reactionary protest or it’s more than just posting on facebook, it’s actually lobbying. Lobbying is not something that has to be done with huge budgets and fancy firms, lobbying is done by pounding the pavement and talking to your community and talking with your local regulators.” – John Fowler “I think we have to wrap our head around the idea that the wild wild west is coming to an end and if we want to be brought into a legal framework there are going to be regulations, and that we should be advocating to be a part of not just municiple but of federal regulations. We want to create one cohesive system. ” – Hilary Black Questions from the audience Does my MMPR document make me legal or do I need the packaging? The Constitutionality of the MMPR. What will the MMPR rewrite look like? Are LP’s responsible for the Project Claudia raids? Standardized production/formulary? If granted home production rights in the MMPR rewrite, where will patients have to go to get starting materials? What is municipal dialogue between Toronto and other municipalities like Vancouver and Victoria on dispensary regulations? https://news.liftcannabis.ca/2016/06/03/the-roots-of-cannabis-access-in-canada/
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