Canada's largest pharmacy chain, Shoppers Drug Mart, is looking to distribute medical marijuana. The company confirmed the proposal in an email earlier today. "We have applied to be a licensed producer strictly for the purposes of distributing medical marijuana," a spokesperson told CBC News. Since its foundation in 1962, the company has expanded to operate over 1,300 locations. Shoppers has clarified that it does not intend to produce medicinal weed, but will look to legally sell to those with prescriptions. Government data is beginning to show that a large number of Canadians have active prescriptions for marijuana. As of June, the number was hovering around around 75,000.
Shoppers Drug Mart isn't the only chain to explore medicinal marijuana. Ontario Premier, Kathleen Wynne, has been outspoken in regards to restricting provincial sales to the LCBO. This summer, polls showed that over 40% of Canadians expressed interest in the LCBO selling pot. You can read the complete study, via Scribd. Meanwhile, rival drug store, Rexall, claims that there is too much uncertainty in the market, and does not actively plan to follow suit with an application to sell. The company spoke with the Globe and Mail at the beginning of the year, saying that it's "not exploring any options or initiatives related to medical marijuana”.
In February of this year, Shoppers expressed interest to sell the drug to patients, but had yet to formally apply for a producer license. Since then, the company has gone through the required steps in order to distribute. Shoppers is now applying for an official producer license, but has been adamant in its plans to only distribute the product. The company will still be unable to dispense marijuana, until the Canadian government updates its drug regulations. Shoppers spokeswoman, Tammy Smitham, has told press that her company hopes these regulations are updated. "We are hoping that the Government of Canada will revise the current regulations to allow for the dispensing of medical marijuana at pharmacy".
For now, the future of medical marijuana at the drug store is still a little hazy. While the federal regulations will need to be updated, having the largest pharmacy chain in the fold is no doubt a huge push towards the legalization of the drug. For more news on the subject, stay locked onto Complex CA.
