Shoppers Drug Mart will soon sell medical cannabis online.
The company was added to Health Canada’s list of licensed producers earlier this month. The federal health organization is allowing the Shoppers Drug Mart to sell plants, seeds, oils and dried and fresh cannabis.
The pharmaceutical giant is trying its hand at online sales in Ontario first, but one local medical cannabis clinic in St. Albert is already considering the future for when the chain's online store comes to Alberta.
“I see it being something that the two of us could work together (on),” said Cole Pethybridge, owner of The Herb Clinic.
If all goes well, he said he could see The Herb Clinic being able to list Shoppers Drug Mart as one of its licensed producers at the clinic.
Shoppers Drug Mart won’t be growing any cannabis itself, but instead will serve as a portal connecting patients to a variety of licensed producers on its website. The patient will need to submit medical documents to the company before being granted online access.
Pethybridge said it will be interesting to see how the program unfolds. One way Shoppers Drug Mart could sell the drug online is by having patients bring their medical prescriptions to the store to be approved by a pharmacist. The pharmacist could then educate the patient on using cannabis.
But that could also cause some issues, Pethybridge said.
“If you’re ... expecting pharmacy techs to go through all of the education necessary for someone to just walk in there with a prescription, I find that they’re going to be very overwhelmed.”
At The Herb Clinic, each patient has a consultation session that lasts for an hour. Clinic staff will walk the patient through how cannabis works, dosing requirements and finding the right licensed producer.
Shoppers Drug Mart did not respond to media requests from the St. Albert Gazette, but told CBC it did not have an interest in producing cannabis. A spokesperson said the pharmaceutical company needed the federal license in order to sell the product.
The company also said it was currently working through a technical issue with Health Canada, and didn’t know when people would be able to order online.
Regardless of how the program unrolls, people will need to submit a medical cannabis prescription to order online. That means places like The Herb Clinic will still be a first point of reference for many patients.
Currently, when a patient receives a medical prescription from the clinic, they’ll be set up with one or two licensed producers.
Under Health Canada, medical cannabis can only be sent by mail directly from a licensed producer to the patient.
Pethybridge said he didn’t understand how the company would have the staffing needed to keep up with orders, or if the process would save patients any time in the end.
“You’re still mail ordering it in,” he said. “If Shoppers was actually carrying product, it would be a lot more beneficial.”
With the online website, patients will be able to select medicine from a variety of licensed producers. If one producer is low or out of a product, that means the patient can simply choose from another.
Currently if a licensed producer isn’t able to provide product, or if the patient isn’t satisfied with the medicine, they can call the clinic where they received the prescription from and get them to switch licensed producers over the phone.
