Top Canadian Pharmacy Exec: Let Us Dispense Medical Marijuana

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The head of Canada’s largest drugstore and grocery chain made clear his company is keen to get into the business of dispensing medical marijuana to patients.

Galen Weston, president and executive chairman of Loblaw, said today his company is “open to dispensing medical marijuana in all forms” and that pharmacists are well suited for the job, The Star reported.

“We’re an industry that is extremely effective at managing controlled substances,” Weston said after the company’s annual meeting.

“It gives pharmacists the opportunity to work directly in real time with patients as opposed to doing it through the mail, working on their doses and making sure it actually has the therapeutic effect that it is intended to have.”

Loblaw’s entry into the MMJ business is contingent on the Canadian government’s approval. Under federal law, MMJ producers and dispensers must mail cannabis to registered patients.

Dispensaries are technically illegal, although an estimated 350 operate across the country, and some municipalities, such as Vancouver, have moved ahead with local regulations for MMJ storefronts.

The federal regulations could be changing, however, given that a Canadian court recently ruled  patients should be allowed to grow their own medicine at home. Moreover, the government is on track to legalize adult-use cannabis next year.