MONTREAL – Quebec’s College of Physicians (CMQ) voiced its concern Monday over the federal government’s new rules for medical marijuana.
After two years of study and discussion, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced the new rules for medical marijuana and granted a reprieve to pharmacists who opposed the rules in their draft form.
Under the new regime, the government will no longer produce or distribute medical pot and medical marijuana users will no longer be allowed to grow the product at home.
The CMQ is particuarly concerned that doctors, rather than Health Canada, will now be responsible for prescribing and providing marijuana to their patients.
“The very fact of handing off to physicians the power to grant access to an illegal product for which there is currently no properly documented medical indication, would expose physicians to no small measure of legal and social risks,” noted CMQ secretary, Dr. Yves Robert, in a blog.
– With files from The Canadian Press
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