A recent Ontario arbitration¹ involved a grievance alleging that the denial of a claim for reimbursement for medical marijuana under a group health plan breached the collective agreement and is a helpful reminder that notwithstanding the attention medical marijuana has received in recent years, there are practical limits and issues for employers to deal with in claims related to medical marijuana.

Facts

The greivor's spouse had a medical document from a licenced physician, which suggested that she ingest three grams of dried marijuana per day for a period of six months to address two medical conditions. The greivor's spouse obtained the recommended dosage of marijuana from a licenced producer as well as a receipt for the purchase.

The Main Stage at the Lift Cannabis Expo was packed full of amazing and knowledgable speakers, providing a great cross section of the cannabis industry. Starting off with...

The Main Stage at the Lift Cannabis Expo was packed full of amazing and knowledgable speakers, providing a great cross section of the cannabis industry. Starting off with industry analysts like David Hyde, Ivan Ross and Elliot Gauthier and finishing off the day with activists like Jodie Emery and Dana Larsen, the Main Stage area was full of crowds interested in learning more about the evolving cannabis industry in Canada and around the world.

More than a week after Toronto police raided dozens of local pot dispensaries, the ones still open are feeling the stress.

“Most [staff] are just trying to make a living, not making big bucks like the owners,” said a manager at the Green Room dispensary in Davisville who identified himself as Green Eyez.

“We shouldn’t have to worry about being charged with a serious crime.”

As part of the Project Claudia raids May 26, police laid criminal charges against 90 dispensary owners and employees, while confiscating 270 kilograms of pot and $160,000 in cash.

We know that 43 illegal medical marijuana dispensaries in Toronto were raided by police May 26. But what led to shut-downs is a matter of debate for within the medical marijuana community of dispensaries, activists, and licensed producers (LP's). 

'The police are enforcing a failed federal law. That law needs to change,' says Joe Cressy

A Toronto city councillor is calling on the Trudeau government to introduce a new federal regulatory framework that would clarify the rules of recreational pot in Canada because cities are in "legislative limbo" as they try to deal with marijuana dispensaries.

"When it comes to federal law on this issue, the federal government needs to act," Joe Cressy, councillor for Ward 20 and chair of the Toronto Drug Strategy Implementation Panel, told Metro Morning.

"The federal government has let down cities right across this country," he said. "Cities are struggling. You cannot arrest your way to a solution."

Mitchell Cutler had just finished selling a THC-infused ointment to an arthritic woman — her “medicine” — when Toronto police showed up and charged him with possession for the purposes of trafficking.

“If these charges do stick I guess my future is pretty much over,” said the marijuana dispensary worker, who says he has never before been in trouble with police.

Cutler was at city hall Monday as part of a coalition of pot dispensaries urging the city to drop the charges laid by Toronto police during raids last Thursday.

A day after Toronto Police swept through the city’s marijuana retailers, arresting around 90 people and seizing hundreds of kilograms of drugs, Chief Mark Saunders faced pointed questions from a crowd of protesters over the police’s decision to crack down on the trade.

At a tense press conference on Friday, Chief Saunders said the operation, named Project Claudia, was not an attack on the lawful marijuana use, and that it had been prompted by complaints from residents and by police concerns over the health of those who purchase marijuana at dispensaries.

If you have any doubt as to the absolute transformation that has occurred in the Canadian collective attitude toward marijuana, head on down to the Lift Cannabis Expo at the Metro Toronto Convention Center this Saturday, May 28 and Sunday, May 29. The event runs over the course of the weekend and culminates with an “afterparty” hosted by Supreme Pharmaceuticals Inc.(CNSX:SA) at Candyland on King Street West in Toronto.

Supreme Pharmaceuticals CEO John Fowler will participate in a panel discussion at noon on Saturday discussing some of the legal issues surrounding the evolution of the MMPR economic in Canada. 

An owner of a medical marijuana dispensary in Toronto says she won’t allow city licensing officials to close down her store because what she’s doing isn’t “criminal.”

Queens of Cannabis co-owner Brandy Zuborg received a warning from the city last week and again on Monday, but told reporters Wednesday that what she’s doing is legal.

Zuborg said her store gives people the ability to become employed as a supplier or dispensary owner. “And there’s nothing criminal about that,” she said.

Ferneyhough called the city "unconstitutional" for "punishing dispensaries for providing sick patients with access to their medicine."