Supply challenges in cannabis industry affecting medical patients

Supply challenges in cannabis industry affecting medical patients

Ashleigh Brown uses cannabis to help manage seizures and founded a Facebook group called SheCann, which aims to help other medicinal patients access cannabis. (Source: Josh Crabb/CTV News) Licensed producers are facing challenges supplying cannabis to the recreational market in Canada and advocates say some medicinal patients are also facing barriers accessing their medicine.

The organization which represents the licensed producers who grow 85 per cent of the country’s medical and adult recreational cannabis said the introduction of the recreational market on Oct. 17 has placed additional pressure on the cannabis industry as a whole.

“Every time a patient is waiting for an order, we in the sector feel that we have a problem,” said Cannabis Council of Canada executive director Allan Rewak. “Cannabis is very much available for medicinal patients but certain companies are facing supply challenges and that’s not uncommon under the ACMPR (Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations) medical framework.

“That’s not to say product in any way is being diverted, it’s simply to say that this new and exciting adult consumer use stream has taken a lot of time and effort from our companies and, like any industry, it’s been a tough thing to deal with.”

Rewak, who said labelling supply challenges as a shortage would be a misrepresentation of the situation, told CTV Winnipeg even though companies are scaling up production capacity it’s not uncommon for certain strains of pot which are high in demand, to sell out.

He said most producers have prioritized medical patients and that […]

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