Canada Just Legalized Growing Medical Marijuana At Home

Big day for our friends to the North. As Canada's CTV News reported, "The federal government has announced new rules for medical marijuana users that will allow patients to grow their own at home. The new regulations, which will replace the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations, also include other changes such as stricter labelling requirements for dried pot and cannabis oils."

The nation's new Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations come into effect nationwide August 24th, less than two weeks from now. So if you're Canadian and reading this, all that's standing between you and a lovely homegrow like the ones you see in legal Colorado is a discussion with a prescribing doctor - that's right, an awkward 10 minute Skype call where you complain about not being able to sleep... or having problems with anxiety... or that pesky glaucoma, and boom, you're now a greenthumb operating within the bounds of Canadian federal law.

Down south in the States, of course, marijuana consumption and enjoyment remains federally illegal, on par with heroin and meth production. Every 42 seconds to 1 minute, another American is arrested for marijuana possession. In non-legal states, such an arrest can still lead to thousands of dollars in court costs, permanent loss of income/job, and 5 years or more in a wildly profitable private prison. Isn't that nice?

But thankfully, I hear President Obama is crafting a workaround to help cannabis users in the US busted for pot smoking, or at least I hope so: the entire nation has seen a Web video of his daughter smoking the dangerous, illicit Schedule I controlled substance.

Terence McKenna on the realities of cannabis vs. the myths: