Considerations When Selecting Your Licensed Producer(s)

Salutations~

You have almost made it! You have a prescription for cannabinoid medications- CBD oil, THC capsules, or whole flower cannabis to vape, concentrate or cook with.

Now- You have some choices to make.  When you become a cannabis prescribed patient in 2019- you have access to your medicine, but only from government approved channels with very specific rules about what, when, how and where you purchase it from.

Specifically- you must register with a Licensed Producer ( or 2 ) using the official documentation forwarded from your prescribing doctors office. (you don't get to keep a copy) This is an important note: Having a 3rd party clinic that strictly deals with cannabis patients will greatly expedite this process as general practitioners are exceptionally busy and may be slower to accommodate.

New licensed producers are popping up all of the time, so rather than give you an outdated list- I want to speak about some of the things that you will need to consider in no particular order.

Price:
Cannabis is expensive. But there are places that can help you compare Rx pricing, to aid you in finding something that fits your budget.  Some companies offer compassionate pricing discounts for low income patients, ( around 30k household income ) while others are just competitive with their prices. but expect to still be paying upwards of 7-10$/g for your prescription costs.   You ARE able to claim medical cannabis expenses on your year end tax return, to a small degree- so keep your receipts!

Quality:
Many people who need cannabis medications to treat their chronic ailments have a preference to one company, or a particular strain type, or even just the most cost efficient THC:CBD / $$$ ratio they can get. What you don't want is: Contaminated. Old and dry.  Extra stem / leaf weight from bad trim. Damaged trichome heads. And while you unfortunately don't have ability to jar shop to know exactly what you're getting- you can help reach an informed decision from other reviews, personal experience, word of mouth etc.

Methods / Values:
Organically soil grown, pesticide free, small batch, hand trimmed, family owned:
Are these things that are important to know? How do they cure their product- Do they use Gamma-Irradiation / Cold pasteurize?? Are the employee's happy?  Or is it- How much cost can they save me? Someone needs to make some affordable cannabis somewhere... don't they?

Shipping:
Not all companies are equal in this department.   Altho you may be ordering the cheapest priced medication listed, you might not realize until it hits the checkout page that you have just been hit with a 10-20$ shipping bill on top of your 5g purchase. And then there is the Excise ( sin ) tax- which varies from province to province, but expect some extra $$$ from that.  So knowing which companies which will absorb that tax, cut you a break on shipping - is a big factor for the budget conscious Ent.

Availability:
Do you require certain CBD / THC ratios? Does the company you are considering make patient needs a priority over the recreational market? Will you have similar alternatives if their inventory changes?
Choosing an LP with a broad variety of products is nice, but if they run out of CBD, or Low THC or vegan gel caps, or whatever- this is a problem.  Conversing on forums like CanadianCannabisLP's with other patients about their experiences may help you avoid supply issues.  I personally recommend any company that can give you forecasts of coming crops, letting you know of new or discontinued strains.

Grow at home:
Start up costs for growing at home can vary from the very hippy, to the uber-tech- but in 2019, you must buy your seeds and start up materials like clones from a licensed producer.  Manitoba, where I live- sadly does not have the same luxury- outlawing home growing except for medical purposes.  I would suggest you read up on the current legislation in your province, while I report back on this in a couple of months.

In the end- You are able to appoint two LP's by "splitting" your prescription ie; 1g/Day to company A and 2.5g/Day to company B if you had a 3.5g prescription. Switching is as simple as re-registering and forwarding your original medical document to the new LP.  Do they provide you with good customer service? Are they in line with your values?  Can you afford their products?
There are a lot of options out there, take your time researching- and keep your ears to the ground for new and innovative smaller players arriving to the market weekly.