Another reason has just come up as to why marijuana users should be obtaining their ACMPR license so they can grow their own Cannabis. This is why we do what we do, we handle the paper work for you, and we connect you with a doctor who is willing to prescribe you what you need so you can grow as much as you need.  This way, you always know what’s in your weed, that isn’t the case when you purchase from outside sources.

In Ontario, cannabis consumers seem to be turning away from the province’s legal suppliers and returning their underground sellers, or simply starting the process to grow their own. Why? Because the Ontario Cannabis Store, which is the only  legal, licensed and regulated retailer in the province, keeps making some big mistakes.

Since sales began in October, they’ve failed big time with a number of  privacy breaches, misdirected orders and have even incorrectly labeled products, not to mention recalled products for mold and, perhaps even more disturbing,  sold Cannabis with bugs in them. Yes, you read that correctly, BUGS.  Many orders from the Ontario Cannabis store have been contaminated insects.

Despite the fact that insects can play a vital role in the cultivation process, helping to protect plants’ health without the use of pesticides, it’s not clear that this was the case. Furthermore, with the list of complaints already racking up you would think that more care and quality control would be taken here.

Again, another great example showing that we do not know what’s in our weed.

Health Canada requires that licensed producers test each batch or lot of cannabis for potency, and report the total Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) on the packaging and to their patients.  They also require testing for certain pesticides and heavy metals, but that being said, glyphosate is an acceptable pesticide in Canada. Just because it is ‘approved’ does not mean it’s safe.

One scientist analyzed a number of marijuana testing labs in Washington and discovered that four labs had gone months without rejecting any of the marijuana they had tested. These perfect results are virtually impossible to achieve without turning a blind eye or tampering with the data. In other words, the labs were simply letting the marijuana slide through the regulatory process, regardless of its contents or contaminants.

“There’s a simple reason for this: since privately owned marijuana testing labs rely on a client base of cultivators, the labs are incentivized to be lenient with their testing so as not to chase off their client base. Otherwise, cultivators could choose to send their product to other, more “friendly” labs.”(source)

This is another concern, and you can read more about that here.

Hyasynth Biologicals laboratory in Montreal currently has scientists working on genetically engineering the active ingredients in marijuana and then patenting them. They are part of multiple genetic engineering firms across Canada and the U.S., that’ve popped up over the past couple of years. You can read more about that here.

Growing Your Own

Health Canada allows you to grow approximately 5 times the amount of grams you were prescribed per day in plants i.e. if you were prescribed 5 gram per day, you can grow 25 plants indoors. Many Doctors are not comfortable signing these prescriptions and if they do, they are extremely conservative and don’t understand that many people prefer to eat or juice rather than smoke and this require much more product. There are clinics that can guide you through the process and get you a plant allowance that is large enough for you to be self-sufficient and not risk going over your limits.

Once you mail out the prescription along with the ACMPR document you are not legally allowed to begin growing. While it is very common for people to start growing because they believe that the Doctor is basically the gatekeeper to the program while Health Canada is more administrative, you are not yet legal and could get in trouble with the law. You have to wait until Health Canada mails you your official licence and then and only then are you legally allowed to begin growing.
We strongly recommend starting out the right way and this will ensure you are 100% legal and can focus on the fun of growing for yourself.

If you’d like assistance to make sure you go through the process legally and the right way, please contact us about acquiring a licence and we’ll help you through the process every step of the way.