Medical Marijuana And The Law - A Few Facts You Should Know About
If you are a Canadian citizen, then you likely know that medical marijuana is legal throughout the country. According to the supreme court, you are allowed to consume or smoke the marijuana, and you can also use oil if you desire. Marijuana can only be supplied to you through an authorized and licensed producer, and you can find one of these individuals to provide your medical documents to by searching an online database. If you feel that you have a medical condition that causes pain or nausea and you think that marijuana may offer assistance, then keep reading to learn a few facts about what you can and cannot do according to the law.
You Cannot Grow Your Own Marijuana
Some people believe that they can supply themselves with their own marijuana by growing plants at home and drying them out. This may make sense to you financially, since you may end up spending almost $230 per ounce of marijuana. Depending on your needs, you may end up spending thousands of dollars every year to control your pain. Since your plants will be used to supply only yourself with the marijuana, then it seems as though it should be legal. However, it is illegal to import marijuana seeds into Canada, and it is also illegal to send the seeds through the mail. This means that you probably cannot obtain seeds legally, since the legal producers will not willingly supply them.
Provider Regulations
Even if you do end up finding seeds, you will essentially become a marijuana producer and subject yourself to the regulations set forth by the Medical for Marijuana Purposes Regulations (MMPR). The regulations state that you will need to apply to become an authorized provider. The application will need to state your place of business, your identifying information, and a list of employees who will work at the production site.
Also, a person will need to be named who is in charge of the production site. You will need to tell the local authorities that you intend on producing marijuana, and you will need to supply paperwork that indicates how much marijuana you intend on producing and selling. On top of all of these things, you will need to make sure your proposed provider site is as secure as possible with recording devices and security systems. While the costs of your medical marijuana may seem high, becoming a provider will cost you much more, and it is probably not worth the cost unless you actually intend on selling marijuana to others.
You May Face a DUI Charge
Just because marijuana may be legal for you to consume, it does not mean that you can be reckless with it. Driving under the influence of drugs, whether they are legal or not, will result in a DUI charge. In fact, many provinces are becoming stricter with punishments that involve DUI cases that involve medical marijuana. If you are caught driving under the influence of drugs, you may face similar punishments as ones seen when driving while intoxicated from alcohol. This may mean a license suspension for as long as 30 days.
Marijuana and DUI Issues
There are some serious legal issues involved with charging drivers with drug intoxication offenses, because there are currently no tests that can inform an officer of the level of THC in your bloodstream. This means that is is up to the discretion of the officer to determine if you are intoxicated or not, and the smell of marijuana or the presence of medical marijuana in your vehicle may be part of the evidence used to charge you.
While you can likely fight the charges with the assistance of a lawyer, it is wise to refrain from driving if you have used your medical marijuana within the last several hours. Also, make sure to leave your prescriptions at home unless you need to travel a long distance. If this is the case, then place the medical marijuana in the trunk of your car so you do not have direct access to it while you are driving.
To make sure you're not breaking any laws when using medical marijuana, you may want to work with an experienced lawyer from a firm like Coley Hennessy Cassis Ewasko.
