$1.3B medical marijuana free market coming to Canada - CBC NewsThe Conservative government is launching a $1.3-billion free market in medical marijuana on Tuesday, eventually providing an expected 450,000 Canadians with quality weed.
Health Canada is phasing out an older system on Monday that mostly relied on small-scale, homegrown medical marijuana of varying quality, often diverted illegally to the black market.
In its place, large indoor marijuana farms certified by the RCMP and health inspectors will produce, package and distribute a range of standardized weed, all of it sold for whatever price the market will bear. The first sales are expected in the next few weeks, delivered directly by secure courier...
Veterans Affairs Canada currently pays for medical marijuana for some patients, even though the product lacks official drug status. Some provinces are also being pressed to cover costs, as many users are too sick to work and rely on welfare.
So Health Canada projects that this will initially raise the cost for patients, but eventually drive costs down through competition (or so it's projected). The problem is that the cottage industry allowed patients to grow their own relatively free of cost, which will no longer be an option. Yes, the cottage industry was abused and pot ended up being illegally sold. But if someone with a prescription is using several grams a day and each gram under this free market system is expected to cost $5/gram instead of free? Most of the users are unemployed due to chronic pain or terminal illness. Where are they going to get $30-50/day? Then you have to wonder what the costs on government will be compared to current policing of private growers to the expected certifications, registrations, inspections, so forth.