Fiscal Troubles For Canadian Medical Marijuana Patients

Medical marijuana, never assigned an official drug status by Health Canada, lacks pharmacare program coverage. Today, the Canadian medical marijuana access program is encountering fiscal problems. According to the Chronicle Herald, April 14, 2008 article,("Arrears Reveal Flaws In Medical Pot System") 'Medical marijuana users are on the hook for more than $500,000 in unpaid bills for government-certified weed, raising questions about the effectiveness of Health Canada's troubled dope program. Newly disclosed statistics show that Health Canada has sent final notices - and sometimes dispatched a collection agency as well - to 462 registered users since government marijuana first became available in 2003. 'Most of the 462 individuals who have received a letter regarding their accounts in arrears have had their shipment ceased,' department spokesman Paul Duchesne said in an e-mail."

The article notes, "The unpaid bills, totalling $554,255 as of Dec. 31, have tripled in value in the last two years and have resulted in some seriously ill citizens returning to the black market for their medication. The marijuana distribution service was specifically designed to give patients a legal alternative to street dope. Officials have handed 29 overdue accounts to collection agencies who so far have been able to recoup just $2,000. The statistics, acquired through the Access to Information Act and questions to Health Canada, suggest a deeply flawed program as the number of users in arrears has soared to about two-thirds of all 739 patients licensed to buy government dope."

The article adds, "A series of adverse court rulings since 2000 forced Health Canada into the medical marijuana business. The program licenses certified users who've been prescribed cannabis by their doctors, and allows them to grow their own, have someone grow it for them, or buy directly from the department. Health Canada has paid Prairie Plant Systems Inc. more than $10 million to cultivate a strain of pot in a mine shaft in Flin Flon, Man. Accredited patients can then buy the dope, with a THC content - the active ingredient - of 12.5 per cent, for $5 a gram. The department has said it plans eventually to end its licensing of home-grown dope, forcing all medical users to buy their supplies directly from the government, perhaps through pharmacy distribution. Prairie Plant Systems now couriers the weed in 30-gram packets directly to users.Health Canada previously allowed a 90-day grace period for payment but has since reduced it to 30 days before considering an account in arrears. Other restrictive changes have been made to the program in the last two years, including efforts to persuade doctors to keep doses low."