Editor: Langley RCMP Supt. Derek Cooke (letter, The Times, Aug. 23) seems unaware of how long and arduous a process it is to obtain a license for medical marijuana. It does not happen overnight.
Some doctors are still reluctant to approve the application. If the doctor does approve the application, the person then must be seen by a specialist in the patient’s field. That can take many months for an appointment.
If you are lucky enough to get the specialist to approve the application, you have to send it off to Health Canada. It takes six to eight weeks for them to approve, and send you a card.
Then you have to get seeds from Health Canada, or marijuana from Health Canada or find a grower licensed to grow medical marijuana for you.
During all that time the patient is still suffering. I have no idea how long it takes to cultivate a quality plant or how to obtain the necessary knowledge to produce a quality plant, but it takes longer than a patient should suffer.
Why not have a local medical marijuana dispensary where the person could obtain high-quality medicine to help with the suffering, while all the Health Canada paperwork is accomplished and the plants grow to maturity? Also, not all marijuana is the same. Different varieties cause different reactions.
A dispensary could help them find the right strain, instead of them having to take the time to try to grow different varieties until they find the one that works for them.
The dispensary also has edibles which a lot of patients prefer over smoking the marijuana. There again, the patient could try various edibles easily to find out what works for them.
Getting a medical card from Health Canada is not as simple as it should or could be. A local dispensary could save a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering for many patients. It would harm no one and help many.
Lorraine Hubbs,
Langley
