Website connecting Americans with marijuana-prescribing doctors could come to Canada

A humourous commercial that recently aired in New Jersey, advocating for better, safer access to marijuana, has echoes of relevance north of the border, as Canada continues to mould its position on medicinal and recreational weed.

In the commercial, released by MarijuanaDoctors.com, a clichéd version of a drug dealer is seen pushing sushi on his clients, offering slices of tuna and salmon from the inside of a trench coat.

"You wouldn't buy your sushi from this guy, so why would you buy your marijuana from him?" the commercial asks.

The company’s focus is to connect medicinal marijuana users with doctors willing to prescribe the drug. Twenty states and the District of Columbia have already legalized medicinal marijuana, and more are considering the transition. Two states, Colorado and Washington, have also legalized recreational marijuana.

But the commercial also speaks to Canada's current marijuana stance, and the company responsible could expand into Canadian in the near future.

Canada's rules, laws and even level of public acceptance continue to shift back and forth, leaving the nation left facing the question of how to proceed.

Justice Minister Peter MacKay hinted on Wednesday that the federal government would loosen marijuana laws in Canada by agreeing to a request by Canadian police chiefs that those caught possessing small amounts of weed could be issued a ticket.

[ Related: Looser pot laws may be on horizon after input from police chiefs, MacKay hints ]

Possession of marijuana currently results in criminal charges, putting pressure on limited police resources. In some cases, officers simply elect to turn a blind eye. Giving police the ability to ticket for pot possession would treat the offense more like jaywalking or open liquor charges.

The Liberal Party of Canada, meantime, has taken a pro-legalization stance, with Leader Justin Trudeau touting it as one of his key platforms. The NDP somewhat similarly believes in decriminalizing marijuana possession.

But while Canada's stance on recreational marijuana is slowly becoming more open, the screws are being tightened in its medicinal marijuana program.

At the start of next month, Health Canada will change the way marijuana prescriptions are filled, ending a permit system that allowed some users to grow their own supply and turning production over to a handful of licenced companies.

There are doubts the change will do much to actually reduce the number of people growing marijuana – Vancouver police, for example, have said they will not prioritize chasing down personal grow-ops. But the change will certainly formalize the process with which legal prescriptions are filled. And that could put more emphasis on connecting those seeking medicinal marijuana with doctors who have embraced its health benefits.

[ Related: Changes to Canada’s medicinal marijuana rules unlikely to stop smaller grow-ops ]

Hence the interest in the cheeky New Jersey commercial.

Behind its humourous tone is a legitimate point. Marijuana either has powerful medicinal properties or is an evil weed capable of terrible harm. And our inability to decide how to classify it causes frustrating and dangerous confusion.

MarijuanaDoctors.com, the website behind the New Jersey commercial, operates in 21 U.S. regions and is planning expansion into 15 others. It works as a referral service, of sorts, where users with health issues can be connected with doctors who are willing to prescribe marijuana.

John Nicolazzo, the company's chief operating officer, told CBC News that they were planning to expand the service into Canada after Health Canada's implements its changes on April 1.

There are currently 37,000 Canadians allowed to carry marijuana for medicinal reasons - a number expected to climb to 400,000 in relatively short order.

Canada’s new medicinal marijuana system won’t have users filling their prescriptions from a street corner, but it will leave some confused about what is allowed and what isn’t. Clarity on the issue will be welcome, in any form, once the changes to Canada's medicinal marijuana system come into effect next month.

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