OTTAWA, Ont. -- Facts and figures on medical marijuana in Canada, which is subject to new rules on Tuesday that require patients to acquire their pot from government-approved producers rather than home-grown supplies. A temporary Federal Court injunction has delayed full implementation of the new regime until a legal hearing.
- Number of authorizations to possess under the old rules: 37,800
- Patients authorized to grow for themselves: 25,000
- People designated to grow for someone else: 3,900
- Estimated number of home-grown plants under the old system: 3.3 million
- Price of dried marijuana, per gram, when purchased directly from Health Canada under the old rules: $5
- Number of commercial producers currently licensed under the new regime: 12
- Number of applications to Health Canada, as of early February, to become a licensed producer: 454, with about 25 new applications coming in each week
- Expected price of dried marijuana, per gram, under the new rules: Varies among producers and their individual products, but expected to average about $8 initially.
- Projected total additional cost to all approved patients as a result of the new system: $166 million a year for 10 years
- Projection of number of medical marijuana patients by 2024: Up to 450,000
- Sales projections for the new industry by 2024: $1.3 billion a year.
Source: Health Canada
