To legalize, or not to legalize? When it comes to cannabis, it’s a question that has generated quite a buzz throughout North America over the last several years. Adding fuel to the fire is the recent legalization of marijuana south of the border where pot shops are now open for business across Colorado and Washington states. In Canada, the proven therapeutic benefits of marijuana, well documented by clinical research, have put pressure on law makers to regulate its sale, making the substance more widely available to prescription holders. And this month, the government has complied, developing new legislation that licenses companies to distribute and sell medical marijuana. Bedrocan Canada is leading the revolution, importing numerous cannabis strains into the country, and making them available to eligible local consumers.
Partnering with a pro
Bedrocan Canada is a private, Toronto-based venture that has partnered with Bedrocan BV of the Netherlands. Since 2005, Bedrocan BV has been the only company in the world offering multiple varieties of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis products for research, as well as patient use. Bedrocan’s team has conducted research on the chemical differences among varieties, optimizing growth conditions, developing methods for analysis and ensuring quality-control. Bedrocan cannabis is the only cannabis in the world that is legally shipped across international borders. The company has been the provider to a number of European countries since 2006, and by late 2014, Bedrocan will offer Canadian patients locally grown, pharmaceutical-grade medicinal cannabis.
A well defined body of research
Similar to the demands imposed by stringent pharmaceutical quality control measures, Bedrocan BV has employed rigorous scientific testing methods to investigate and refine the therapeutic capabilities of cannabis. They’ve sponsored leading educational organizations like the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids, developed resources on cannabis used by doctors throughout Europe, conducted more research on medicinal cannabis than any other private company in the world, and focused on patients’ needs by publishing scientific surveys and by listening to both patients and science in developing cannabis strains.
The benefits of legalization, standardization
Industry professionals and students in pharmaceutical courses understand that standardization is crucial for all medicines. Bedrocan’s cannabis strains are produced to pharmaceutical quality standards established by the Dutch Health Ministry, which means they meet the same standards for production as all other medicines. The “buds” are fully standardized, containing the same composition of active ingredients each time they are produced. No other company in the world has been able to standardize whole cannabis flowers this way – an important achievement because unregulated product may contain contaminants, such as mold, fungus, pesticides and heavy metals. Far from your typical pot-shop selection, Bedrocan promises to provide Canadians with the highest quality, safest strains of medicinal marijuana.