Beverly OMalley offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print. Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum. ----------- PUBLICATION GUIDELINES - You have permission to publish this article for free providing the "About the Author" box is included in its entirety. - Do not post/reprint this article in any site or publication that contains hate, violence, porn, warez, or supports illegal activity. - Do not use this article in violation of the US CAN-SPAM Act. If sent by email, this article must be delivered to opt-in subscribers only. - If you publish this article in a format that supports linking, please ensure that all URLs and email addresses are active links. - Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to [email protected] - Article Marketer (www.ArticleMarketer.com) has distributed this article on behalf of the author. Article Marketer does not own this article, please respect the author's copyright and publication guidelines. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this article. ----------- Article Title: Medical Marijuana Access in Canada Author: Beverly OMalley Category: National, State, Local, Wellness, Current Affairs Word Count: 1054 Keywords: medical marijuana,Canadian health care system,Canadian government Author's Email Address: [email protected] Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com ------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------
The decriminalization of marijuana in Canada in 2001 was an attempt to shift the focus away from marijuana as an illegal recreational drug and instead focus on the terminally ill patients who might benefit from the medicinal use of the plant. This would include people with chronic or terminal illness who experience unbearable symptoms that can be relieved by medical marijuana use. An Ontario Court of Appeals ruling in 2000 required the Canadian government to create regulations that focused on the medical marijuana issue. The order included a stipulation aimed at getting the Canadian government to move on this issue and set a time limit of one year. This clear message from the Canadian legal system was the first step in creating the MMAR. Basically the courts said that if the Canadian government had not completed the task of setting up regulations for the use of marijuana for medical purposes within the year then the Ontario courts would not prosecute as illegal the use, growth, or storage of marijuana. The Canadian government met the time line requirements and the new medical marijuana regulations were in effect by 2001. Research into the benefits of medical marijuana by modern scientists began in the 1800's. William Brooke O'Shaughnessy of the Medical College in Calcutta is credited with the first medical marijuana research and introduction of the healing properties of marijuana to the Western medical community. For the remainder of the 19th Century, marijuana was widely used in Western countries as a medicine for pain relief, muscle spasms, and stomach cramps. During this time marijuana was effective in relieving many symptoms of chronic illness. Even though research into the benefits of medical marijuana continued to show the benefits of this drug, new laws were beginning to be enacted in many countries that focused on the use of illegal drugs. Marijuana became encompassed by these new rules and regulations and as a result the ability to use marijuana for medical purposes was taken away by governments that wanted to curb the use of illegal drugs by its citizens. As new prescriptions and over the counter medications became available the need for this natural herb was eliminated. By eliminating the right to use marijuana legally, it became a black market product. Even though marijuana was key to the relief of many chronic symptoms that citizens faced daily, the laws that made it illegal to use, grow, or store, created an even worse situation for terminally ill patients who had to find their own methods of production or purchase. This was the result of the criminalization of marijuana. With the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations now in effect in Canada, the use of medical marijuana has been decriminalized but it has not been legalized. It is still illegal to anyone without the proper license or authorization from the Canadian government. The Medical Marijuana Access Regulations were created to regulate medical marijuana and its use. People who need medical marijuana to treat symptoms and those who grow or store marijuana for distribution to authorized medicinal marijuana users are subject to the terms and conditions of the regulations. The regulations are broken down into different segments that describes how users, growers, storage facilities must operate. Processes and criteria for access to the drug through the Canadian health care system are set out. Each segment provides direction for how a person can get a license and the amounts of medical marijuana that can be in possession at any one time. The latest statistics kept by the Canadian government (July 2008) show there are 1476 physicians authorized to prescribe the drug, while the number of Canadians authorized to possess, grow, or store the marijuana is 2812. Medical marijuana Users The regulations state that an application must be made to the Canadian government, which includes personal information and identification. An authorization from a medical professional must accompany the license request, which states the types of ailments and the benefits that may be realized by the patient. The regulations also give the procedures for authorized users to follow when confronted by authorities who are inquiring about their use of the drug. All the steps involved in obtaining and maintaining a medical marijuana authorization is listed in the MMAR, and the Canadian government is bound to follow those rules until changed by new regulations or laws. Marijuana Growers The grower must make an application to the Canadian government with complete identification papers and plans for growing medicinal marijuana for the Canadian health care system and individual patients. Even though Canada has its own government-controlled herb growing company it is possible for private citizens to grow marijuana under the new regulations. A plan for production and outlets for disposal must be included in the application so that the growing of the drug can be regulated and the quantity of drug can be monitored. For each license to grow medical marijuana, a limit to the amount a grower can produce is set. A license to grow medicinal marijuana does not give a grower the right to grow as much as they want. The quantity of drug produced must match the distribution points authorized by the Canadian government. All the steps in cultivation are monitored and tracked according to the new MMAR laws. The Canadian health care system is partly responsible for working with government agencies to insure that the regulations do not create a larger illegal marijuana problem by having legal growers producing too much of the drug which might find its way into the illegal markets. The MMAR also has rules for the storage of marijuana destined for the medical community. An application must be made to the Canadian government that lists personal identification of the owner of the storage property, the property description, and the routes that the drug will take to final disposal. While one patient may obtain the right to do all three of the regulated acts, individuals may also be able to lawfully grow or store the drug even without the right to consume it. The Canadian government took the most appropriate steps in creating rules that could be easily followed by authorized individuals pertaining to the use of medical marijuana. Now that the MMAR is in effect in Canada, other countries are looking into similar federal regulations to oversee the use of medical marijuana by their own citizens. Beverly Hansen OMalley is a nurse educator who works with internationally educated nurses who want to become a nurse in Canada. http://www.registered-nurse-canada.com explores the nature of the nursing profession in Canada. ------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
