CANADA NEEDS MEDICAL CANNABIS DISPENSARIES

As a therapeutic herb and natural health product, cannabis cannot be
subjected to the sort of clinical trials applied to pharmaceuticals.
Perhaps more importantly, herbs can not be patented, so there is no
incentive for private pharmaceutical companies to shepherd them
through the expensive drug approval process.

However, cannabis already surpasses the accepted standards for
natural health products. The benefit-risk profile of cannabis is well
within that of many commonly used pharmaceutical drugs, and many
studies have already demonstrated the health benefits and safety of cannabis.

Given its widespread use, surely doctors should already be familiar
with the effects, contraindications and drug interactions. And
patients would benefit from not fearing arrest or being criminalized.

Matthew M. Elrod, Victoria.