Shoppers Drug Mart says it has submitted an application to be a distributor of medical marijuana.
A spokeswoman said in an email the drug store chain had applied to Health Canada to become a licensed medical marijuana producer — but only for the purpose of distributing the drug.
Tammy Smitham said Shoppers had “no intention” of producing cannabis. The application is an administrative requirement to be able to distribute the drug.
However, even if Shoppers’ application is granted, the retailer won’t be permitted to dispense the drug through its stores unless the government updates the regulations.
Under the current regime, patients are only permitted to buy medical marijuana directly from licensed producers, who send it by mail.
Smitham said Shoppers was hopeful that Ottawa would consider updating the rules to allow pharmacies to play a role in distributing medical marijuana.
“We believe that allowing medical marijuana to be dispensed through pharmacy would increase access, safety, quality and security for the thousands of Canadians who use the drug as part of their medication therapy,” Smitham said in an email.
